The War of the Elder Ones
by Spacejoe
Summary: Bril's battle has been difficult, and He must 'unleash his powers'. It may be dangerous though. And what happened to the others? R&R! It's not too late.
1. Prologue

_I'm adding this late, I know. But there's a saying that goes something like "It's better late than never". Or something like that. Don't know the right english translation for it._

_This is my first fanfic. And this is the first chapter (even if I wrote it after the others, mind you)._

_Anyway, Enjoy!_

Prologue

Long ago, before the first rising of the Golden Sun, there were four shape-shifting tribes that ruled over the world of Weyard. Each tribe lived around the sacred elemental mountain of their ruling element.

The werewolves lived in Osenia, and their cities were built in the valleys around Air's Rock. Werewolves were fast and powerful creatures, and they could gather the power of the Wind and lightning, fire and water. They waged an endless battle against their natural enemies: the werebears. They worshipped Jupiter, the wind goddess.

The werebears lived around Gaia Rock, on the easternmost reaches of Angara. Werebears were the strongest tribe (physically) and they could summon the powers of Earth, Fire and Water, but not Wind, their elemental weakness. They were a shamanistic race, and their cities were built around nature. They worshipped Venus, the Earth goddess.

The sea-dwellers lived on the continent of Atlantis, and they worshipped the water goddess, Mercury. They lived around Aqua Rock. There were many kind of sea dwellers, including gill-men, mermaids and others. All of them could summon the power of Water, Earth and Wind. Their King was Neptune, who later became a god. Their cities were built primarily with sapphires and waters running everywhere. They were very wise, for the clear waters of Aqua Rock purified their cities and their minds. They were enemies of the Dragon Tribe.

Lastly, the Dragon Tribe built their cities around Magma Rock. They were gifted with long life, and they were the wisest and most powerful of the four. They mastered the powers of Fire, as they worshipped the fire goddess Mars, and they could also summon the powers of Wind and Earth. Their cities were always lit with many fires and built with onyx stones and rubies everywhere. Their King was the inmortal dragon known as Bahamut, and He had lived since before anyone could remember. He only had a son, Shinryu who was inmortal as well; and, like his father, very powerful. Their wars against the Sea-dwellers had been raging since the beginnings of time.

But while each tribe wished to be the ruler of Weyard, a fifth and until then unknown Tribe appeared. For the rulers of each tribe, hungry for power as they were, summoned the Elder Tribe from the Outer Spheres, and made a pact with their demons. And, with the pact, the tribes doomed Weyard, for the Demons took control over Tundaria, and from there sent their armies against them. But after innumerable battles anddeaths, the Gods sent a gift. The four lighthouses, containing the purified essence of each element, and the Golden Sun, the essence of the gods.

And men, until then considered only a nuissance, became Adepts. Their powers, coming from the gods, banished the Demons to the Outer Spheres. They sealed the gate, so this would never happen again. Since then, the four tribes have been losing power, and there's now only one city for each Tribe, while the Adepts grow stronger and more powerful, and it's said that the future belongs to them.

Along with the Golden Sun and the four lighthouses, the gods sent also their servants to live among the people of Weyard. These were the djinn. There were four kinds of Djinn, just as there are four elements: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Mars.

But the people of Weyard, fearing that these creatures would be used to war, appointed their strongest Adepts to seek and capture these beings, and prevent their use in a possible war. An Age passed, and the Djinn-hunters continue to do their job, seeking the djinn in forests and caves, while protecting them from Evil. And the world of Weyard, with the Golden Sun still lit, goes on and on, oblivious to the threat of the Elder ones, who still lurk in the outer spheres, biding their time, and still intent on ruling this world.

_What do you think? Cool? Lame? Weak? Review!_


	2. The stranger in the Mist

Episode 1: The stranger in the Mist.

It was a misty night in the world of Weyard, and a young girl screamed as she ran through the forests of Kolima, trying to scape her pursuers. Three men followed her, not too far away, tracking her scent with what seemed like heightened senses, At last she came to a halt in front of a great tree, and she tried to hide, climbing its giants branches. Suddenly, they appeared.

They were tall and muscular. They were surely not humans, for they wore strange clothes and had great fangs. Calming her breath she tried to listen to them.

"She's not too far away" said one of them. She was sure that he was the leader, as he talked to the others in a superior way.

"You, look over there, and you go with him; there's no way she can escape this time".

As he said that the others did something strange. She saw them walking on all fours, and snifing the air as a dog or _wolf_ would. They said something to the leader, but it sounded like a growl. He must have understood, for he nodded and looked away. Then they left, running like beasts.

"You can come down now", he said almost in a whisper, "I will kill you here and now if you don't".

She could see him looking directly where she was even covered by many branches and leaves. She tried to hide behind another branch, but it let out with a crack. As she fell, however, he suddenly leaped and caught her. Landing easily, he tightened the grip in her throat and said calmly.

"You cannot say I didn't gave you the chance. Now I shall enjoy killing you, finding it, and then eating you slowly, part by part" and as he said that he touched her forehead with a long hairy finger, going down her cheeks and slowly to her neck. He grinned.

"This is good-bye, my dear" but suddenly he let out the most terrible howl she had ever heard, releasing her. She crawled to the base of the tree and hid behind one of the roots. There she saw a strange sight.

The were-wolf turned around to see a young man with short red hair and red eyes. They were calm ("almost too calm" she thought), like a mask that has been weared for too long, and did not reflect any emotion. He held a two-handed sword in his hands. It was dripping, and she saw the werewolf grabbing his side.

The werewolf grinned and said "You are a brave but foolish young man, my friend. We cannot be hurt by something so simple as a sword". And as he said this his wound was healing. In almost an instant his back and side were clean again, and soon there was no trace of a scar.

"So you would fight to protect her. Are you sure you can protect even yourself?" As he said that two huge wolves appeared behind the red-haired man. One of them attacked him quickly with a giant claw, but he evaded the attack as easily as if he was expecting it. The attack was soon followed with another and soon he was evading and parrying attacks from both wolves.

It was then that the girl noticed something strange. Even when he was in the midst of battle, his eyes were so calm as if staring at a mirror. He evaded one more and then she saw a roaring fire growing where his sword was. The wolves, not expecting this backed for almost a second, but it was enough time for him to get close to one of them, and he attacked with that flame that had been a sword to it's chest. With a terrible roar it felled backwards in the floor an she saw that the wound was open, not regenerating like before. The other noticed this, and ran away, but the man jumped a great distance and landed in front of him. Not doubting for a split second he cut the other wolf's head and it fell near the leader, who was at this point shocked, and as he saw the look of terror in the eyes of the now bodiless head he ran and grabbed the girl.

"You are an Adept, aren't you? Go away or this girl's done for!" He held his claw to her face. But the red-haired man just raised his hand and a red light emanated from it. The girl suddenly screamed as she saw that the werewolf was burning, flames emerging from the ground all around him. She looked away, trying to protect herself, but suddenly she felt everything calm down and go quiet. As she looked again there was no trace of a werewolf, only scorched earth and ashes.

Then she heard him getting close. She looked at him, and those eyes gave her that exact same look. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but there was a strange strength in those eyes. It made her feel uneasy, but his voice was caring and soothing.

"Come" He said. "I'll take you home"

Then she followed him. There was something about that man that made her feel calm, and with him at her side, nothing could go wrong.

………………………..

After going out of the forest they camped for the rest of the night. She spent most of her time looking at his face, looking for some change in those strange red eyes. Hours passed but she couldn't sleep, the terror still too close in her memory. She saw that he did not (or could not) sleep. He just lay there, resting against a stone. She wanted to talk but couldn't find the words. Finally she said quietly:

"Thanks."

No Answer. She tried again:

"You're not from around here are you?"

He turned to see her and then back at the ground. She decided to try one last time:

"They wanted something from me, you know, but I couldn't give it to them. My mother told me to guard it from evil, with all my strength. But then again he's….."

She quickly fell silent, realizing that she had maybe gone too far, but she finally caught a glimpse of emotion in his face. Almost like surprise. Then she said "What's your name?" But He whispered "Shh… they're back. Keep out of sight".

Then he stood up, high and proud. She could hear the growls and steps of many wolves and crawled behind the rock terrified. There she heard one of them (surely the leader of the pack) say:

"So you're the one that killed my scouts. I can smell their blood on your sword. You shall die now, and we'll feed with your innards!" She looked at the scene, trying to stay hidden, and the she saw many werewolves that jumped against the man, but he just scoffled and said calmly:

"You cannot defeat me. Attack me and you'll die".

There was something about his voice that shook her. It was not caring and soothing as before, but filled with majesty, and many of the werewolves doubted. But then the one that spoke before (a huge black wolf) shouted: "Kill him!"

They attacked from several sides surrounding him, but then huge flame appeared at his feet; blocking their attack. Many were burned to ashes; others were wounded fatally. The rest looked with horror as he wiped out half of their numbers with relative ease. Then the man said to the rest:

"I warned you. Now you'll die. Pyroclasm!" Then many volcanoes appeared at their feet and they erupted so fiercely that the ground was shocking with their might. There was nothing left when it subsided, only the Leader, who was now lying in the floor, with half it's body scorched. Struggling to talk he said:

"Who are you, Adept?"

The red-haired man walked over to him and said calmly:

"They call me a djinn hunter. Now it's your turn to die"

One fireball later there was nothing left of the werewolves.

………………………….

That morning when the girl and the red-haired man reached the city of Kolima, she said to him:

"I still don't know your name, stranger. Please, tell me your true name"

Looking down at her he said, with a face that almost (almost) looked like a smile:

"My name is Joe. You know the rest"

"Yes, one of the legendary djinn hunters. Please have this" As she said this she held out a bracelet with a single ruby in it. "This is Corona. My mother will be pleased when she knows that I kept him away from evil". Suddenly the Djinn appeared before them, and she said:

"Corona, this is Joe. He'll take care of you from now on" The djinni nodded and began to spin rapidly, and its body dissolved in many fire orbs that flew high into the sky. Seconds later the fire orbs appeared and seemed to melt with Joe. A powerful red aura now surrounding him.

Joe looked at his bracelet. He now had five rubies in it. The newly found djinn glowing with a faint red light.

When Joe left town the words of the little girl still ringed in his ears.

"Good-bye, Djinn Hunter. May your future be filled with happiness".


	3. Enter the Venus Adept

Episode 2: Enter The Venus Adept.

As Joe travelled towards the county of Bilibin, He noticed a lot of travelers crossing his path. Some were too scared to talk, others refused to travel alone. He knew that something must be going on, but no one stopped to say anything.

That night, He saw a campfire not too far away. Moving closer he realized that it was a group of merchants. They allowed him to rest there (for a few coins, of course) and he quickly joined the conversation.

"They say strange things are happening lately…" said one of them.

"Yes, there is talk of strange fellows on the road…" Joe noticed that some of them looked at him, but he didn't care. The rumors were far more interesting.

"Some say werewolves from the lands of Osenia have come to Angara" There were whispers in response and everybody got closer to the fire.

"They say that the werewolves come for food; others, for lands. Others say they want some sort of power that involves Psynergy…"

"The Wolf tribe has no connection with Psynergy. Their powers come from Alchemy too, but they use them in a different way" As Joe said this everybody turned to look at him.

"And what do you think they are looking in Angara?"

"They are looking for Djinn. I killed a small pack in the borders of Kolima Forest past week." Everybody looked at him in a completely different way when he said this, as if in some kind of shock. Kids embraced their fathers. Others backed away.

"We are heading for Kolima. I heard horrible howls in the fields surrounding Bilibin, and I quickly gathered my family and ran away". Said one of the merchants."Now you tell me that there's more of those beasts in Kolima? What am I supossed to do?". He looked as if there was no safe place in the world.

"They won't attack unless they feel a djinni. As long as you don't have one, you and your group will be fine" It was then that they heard the Howl. It was far more terrible out in the wild lands, and chilling most of them to the bone.

"What was that? It's them isn't it? They're following you, Stranger" As they said that some reached for their swords. Joe simply stood up and said:

"Don't worry. Even if there were a hundred of them they could not defeat me. I'll protect your campment tonight. Tomorrow morning, when I leave, they will simply follow me and ignore you."

The leader said then: "You seem to trust your power, stranger. Very well. Go sleep everyone, and whatever you do, don't look out your windows this night."

………………………..

Joe was not allowed into the camphouses, so he just rested near the fire. He was beginning to think the werewolves would not attack, when he saw a man come out from behind some bushes.

He was tall and had a strong body, with raven black hair and brown eyes. There was an axe in his hands but Joe thought that he didn't needed one ("He'd kill a normal man with punch in the face"). There was something strange about this man. Not actually dangerous, but Joe thought that he was not only another so-called warrior. A powerful aura could be felt around him when he approached the fire, looking at the red-haired man.

"You don't want to stay out tonight kid. Those were no ordinary wolves howling back there."

Then he stared at Joe, whose lifeless eyes seemed to reflect the light of the fire and glow back as in response. As always he looked for some kind of emotion, when they heard it again. A Howl like the calling of death, and filled with hatred for every living thing.

"Damn those creatures. Always following me around." Then he paused and turning around said "Do you by any chance have some food with you? I'm going to starve right here and drop dead if I don't eat something now"Joe reached into his bag, threw some fruit to the man, who caught it with a tear in his face.

"An apple! So fresh, so juicy, so…." But then the werewolves attacked.

Joe stood up and draw his sword, but the man said "You won't hurt them with that, kid. Stay back and I'll show you how to fight" But there were at least twenty wolves around them now. The man suddenly shouted "Here I come fellas! Feel my wrath!"

Suddenly, as if to answer the man's cry, there was an earthquake. Most werewolves fell down, but some of them jumped to attack, only to fall again, this time without a leg. Others were cut in half by the man's axe.

Joe thought that the man could take care of them all, but suddenly some of the werewolves ran straight toward him. Joe just scoffled and put up a fire barrier.

They hesitated for a moment, but a second later they attacked him from various directions. Joe jumped high in the air and casted some fireballs. With just an order they came falling down like meteors, exploding on impact. Some werewolves were dead after the attack, the burns having wounded them fatally. The rest ran away for their lives.

"I hope there's not anymore around here" He said, but more were coming. Then he realized that they were not coming after him, and that their forces must be attacking the tall man. Joe ran towards him (He was doing well, after all) but they attacked him again. It appeared that they were trying to stall for time. After burning two of them with a fireball. He saw the man completely surrounded by tenths of wolves.

But the man simply said "Hehe, well, there is no end to your numbers is it? Let's see how this turns out. You cannot defeat me! Grand Gaia!"

There was a sudden flow of venus energy coming from the ground and as it finished there was no wolf in sight, all of them just blasted into oblivion with the powerful psynergy.

"You fought well kid, what's your name?" said the man. He looked quite exhausted after his attack.

"I'm Joe, a Djinn hunter" The man looked surprised but soon he was smiling and then he laughed.

"Joe, eh? I've heard a lot about you, Djinn hunter. But you are not alone in this job. Look!"

And as he talked he took out his black gloves, and Joe saw that he had a bracelet on each arm and there was a topaz on each side of them.

"These are my djinn. I am Max, the Djinn Hunter, and I come from the Suhalla Range! Now tell me, you don't happen to have another apple do you? I'm starving."

Joe simply reached his bag and gave it to him.

…………………………….

"The two of you defeated all of those werewolves! But that's…. that's impossible!" said the elder merchant. But Max just laughed and said:

"Impossible is my last name. I propose a feast for this victory!"

After the feast (which turned out to be a fake, since they had to pay for it) The two of them headed towards Bilibin. There was always a shadow over the horizon. But Joe was used to it by now.

"We make one hell of a team, kid. We should travel together. I have a feeling that things will not be so simple from now on"

A team? Joe had no friends, no family, no place that he could call home. But he felt it too, a dark horizon around them, as a sign of things to come.

"Whatever".

There was a feeling of trust towards that man. Joe felt no trace of the power that he felt during the attack. Looking up the sky, towards the Golden Sun, he said to himself:

"I hope nothing's wrong in Bilibin. Some say that the mayor has large numbers of Djinni in his treasury, but I don't believe it".

But then He saw a black pillar of smoke rising from the city.Max saw it too, and he said:

"You should stop saying that. It always makes things go wrong."

They knew that the city was under attack. And suddenly several lights of different colors rose to the sky and towards the West. They were djinn.

"We'll take care of those later. The city is more important now" Joe said. Max nodded. He couldn't go Djinn-hunting now.

……………………

As they approached Bilibin, they saw the bodies of the town guards, their faces showing that fear so common in young people dragged into battle.Max looked at the burning homes and ruined walls of the now lifeless city:

"These 'warriors' were no match for the werewolves. But there is something strange in this place. An ominous presence, like nothing I've ever seen"

"This destruction was not caused by werewolves" Joe answered, "and there are strange footprints in this road"

He was looking at a footprint, but instead of the wolf-like paw of the werewolves, there was a huge footprint.

"Whatever left this footprint here had long fingers and huge claws. If I'm not mistaken this was left by a roc" Joe looked around. There were more in the walls.

"They are heading to the castle! Come on, they have been here for no more than two hours! We have to look for survivors! Plus that bird is probably still in there" But as Max said this, a powerful shriek came from the castle. Seconds later, a giant bird, twenty feet tall at least, appeared in one of the windows. It spread it's wings and flew towards the North. Something was riding it, but it didn't look like a werewolf, cloaked in a black hood, and wearing a black cape with matching armor.

"It's looking for the Djinn. We'll go see the Mayor and give him a proper burial, if necessary. They never expected this attack, And by the looks of it there was almost no struggle".

They entered the castle, not expecting to see any survivors. The royal guard's bodies had been devoured by the werewolves, and there were arms and legs scattered around. The body of aroc was lying in the main chamber, and Joe saw that it was not the only one. The walls were painted with the purple blood of the roc, but the floor was red with the blood of the people.

"This was a massacre" Max said, but then they heard a noise. It was the Mayor, left for death in the stairs to his throne.Max saw that his stomach had been pecked out and was now in his hands.

"This…. is only the beggining …. War is coming to Weyard… The Elder tribe wants to rule….. Please… give this message to the High Priest…. In Serland… Hurry… before it's too late…" and with this final plea, the Mayor died.

Joe burned his body, took the ashes and buried them in the outskirts.

"This has gone far beyond food or lands" Joe thought. The Elder tribe? Who (or rather what) were they? And what kind of war would they cause in Weyard?

The words of the Mayor echoing in their minds, they left north towards Serland. Leaving behind the peace and tranquility that had endured for almost an Age.


	4. The Underground Passage

Episode 3: The Underground Passage

Joe and Max travelled towards the city of Serland, in the northern reaches. There were already traces of destruction in the way. As they grew closer to the Mountains that separated the city from the rest of Angara, they noticed the bodies of the merchants froms Serland. It seemed they had a nasty encounter with the werewolves.

"They will pay for this…" Max said.

"Hurry" said Joe, "If the city is under attack we will need to find and rescue the elder priest amongst hundreds of werewolves. And getting him out of there won't be easy"

"Wait. If it's such a huge army, they won't be able to pass through the cave easily. And if they go through the Mountain Pass, they can take easily three or four days to the other side…" Max looked at the road leading to the Pass. The forms of hundreds of wolves easily seen against the white snow of the mountain.

"They are ahead of us by two days, at least…" Joe thought " We could easily reach the city before them by taking the underground passage. But they must have left someone guarding it's entrance…"

"All right, we'll go through the mines. But…" Joe looked at Max, who understood clearly what he meant.

"I know. Probably twenty or thirty. Nothing difficult for us, eh? Let's go!"

…………………………..

There were not twenty or thirty werewolves in the entrance. There were eighty. At least. But they posed no threath to two experienced and well trained djinn hunters.

Joe stabbed his last werewolf with the Flaming sword technique, but between the death growls and roars he heard " Please… avenge… us…, Captain Seth…". Max appeared, covered in werewolf blood.

"There's someone else inside the cave. Apparently the leader. We'll have to be extra-careful kid." But as he said this a man came out of the cave. He was covered in wolf skin and was tattoed with strange designs and runes. He had pointy ears, long teeth and claws. A strange power emanated from him. And a hostility like they had never felt before.

"Joe and Max, I presume" he said, grinning. " I've heard so much about you. But you don't seem like the powerful warriors that everyone is talking about".

"And you must be Seth, the Captain of these beasts" Max interrupted him. He was ready to attack him. Then, he charged. A rushed attack that didn't even touched the werewolf. He was too fast for him. Max turned around and attacked with his mighty axe. Seth evaded the first blow easily, ducked the second, and laughed as he leaped over the third. He quickly punched Max in the face, throwing him out of balance, but the punch was soon followed by a second, third, and fourth attack, his arms moving so fast that only a blur could be seen. At last an uppercut sent Max flying, and he fell, unconscious, against the rock wall of the cave.

It then ran towards Joe, who was now prepared for the attacks. Seth launched a barrage of punches and kicks that could have been deadly, except for the fact that Joe was almost as fast as him. He sent a fireball, but Seth evaded it. Then he ran quickly in circles around Joe, now creating some sort of tornado around him, but Joe quickly casted a firewall around himself, forcing Seth to leap backwards to escape.

"Not bad," He said "but this is only the beginning!" and then he reached for an earring in his left ear.

"Zephyr, I command you!" He shouted "Make me faster! Faster! FASTER!" It was a tone in his voice like that of a madman, but he glowed purple for a second, and Joe realized that Zephyr was a Jupiter Djinni, as the wolf tribe was connected to Air's Rock and the Wind Powers.

But now Seth was extremely fast, moving from place to place in the blink of an eye. He charged towards Joe, and punched him in the stomach. But before he could fall down, he was hit again, this time with a kick to his chest that sent him flying. He landed not too far away, but the hits were very powerful. He didn't stood up so easily.

Joe knew that he had to think quickly, but there was no time, He knew he had to buy time. But what spell would slow down the werewolf, even for an instant? The answer came quickly.

"Pyroclasm!" He cried.

Seth charged again, and as he approached he evaded the volcanoes that appeared under his feet. But he was soon trapped in a fiery circle of lava.

Seth was far too fast to be burned with it, and as he leaped towards Joe, he spinned in mid-air so the fire itself receded, and landed outside the circle. He was now within striking range, but just when he was about to hit him, Max attacked from the distance.

"Grand Gaia!"

The werewolf leapt backwards, barely evading the attack.

Then Max took a topaz from his left hand. It sparkled faintly with a golden light.

"Ground, I command you! Use gravity to hold my foe!" Several orbs appeared from nowhere and entered the werewolf's body, holding it against the ground.

"Now Joe, finish him!"

Joe charged all of his psynergy in his hands, a bright red light surrounding them. Then he pointed them at the werewolf and cried "Rising Dragon!"

Suddenly a column of fire shot from underground, taking the werwolf with it. It rose several miles in the air, exploding fiercely. When the attack finished, there was nothing left of him.

Suddenly a white and blue creature appeared next to the crater. Joe approached it and said calmly:

"You must be Zephyr"

The creature nodded.

"Come. We don't have much time left."

The djinni obediently jumped into the sky and divided into several spheres of energy and entered Joe's body. A ring with a purple gem appeared in his hand.

"He did put up one hell of a fight, eh kid? But we showed him, eh? We showed him who was boss, didn't we?" Max seemed to forget that he was knocked out before he even attacked.

………………

Night was falling and the werewolf army was now well in it's way toward's Serland. They entered the cave, unsure that they could reach the ice city before them. In a desperate race against time, they were running out of it. And each minute that passed in the cave, brought doom closer and closer to the City and the Lighthouse.


	5. The Shadow of the Past

Chapter 4: The Shadow of the Past.

It was a great city. Blessed waters coming from Mercury lighthouse. The streets were filled with happiness and laughter. It was Serland, The city that grew aroud Mercury Lighthouse The ports served as communication with the only other cities in this latitude, Soliena, to the west, and Prox, to the north. The very air was filled with pure thoughts. The best doctors came from Serland, for the Order of the White Hand had studied the Water of Hermes for generations, and most citizens knew a thing or two about medicine. The schools mixed history, math and geography with medicine from an early age, and fountains filled with the finest pearls were everywhere.

But that was the past.

The city was now expecting the attack of a the werewolves. There was no escape. The werewolves had cut all ways out, and the the port was now the refuge of the few people unable to fight, for the ships had left in a hurry with only a few men onboard. Most were inmediately summoned for a great army, and armed with magical swords and silver shields. Their armors had the lighthouse engraved in zapphire over the chest, and their helmets had the symbol of the Adepts, the sun.

But the city's army had a flaw, and that was the fact that nobody had ever used a weapon. Most were simply farmers, or doctors, and few had access to the only weapon that could win the war: Powerful Psynergy. Everyone could use frost, but what good could that be? The werewolves were fast and powerful creatures. There was a good chance that they could lose, and the lighthouse would be destroyed.

The day before the attack, two travelers arrived. A young man with red eyes and red hair (surely a Mars adept), and a a tall man with black hair and brown eyes (surely a Venus adept). Both looked tired, and their clothes were poor. However there was no denying the inmense power that emanated from them. They inmediately asked for audience with the King and the High Priest.

King Tharden lead them to the royal chamber, they were joined by the Leader of the Order of the White Hand, Hens; along with the High Priest, Denoth. With them were the captains and generals of the army.

"You have traveled to this Land to help defend our city, you say, but you also say that there's little chance of winning? Then what do you propose, Oh Mighty _traveler_? Hens spoke with a tone of superiority, and a grin appeared in his face. But when the black-haired man looked at him, he knew he had to be silent until spoken to.

"We are not mere travelers from the central lands of Angara, _m'lord_. Joe is my name, and this is Max from the Suhalla Range in Gondowan. We're Djinn hunters".

"King Tharden of Serland, please listen to the words of the Governor of Bilibin, as spoken to me right before he died, after the complete destruction of his city: This is only the beginning. War is coming. The Elder tribe wants to Rule." Joe paused. Everyone was staring at him with complete disbelief. War across all of Weyard? Soon everybody started to talk in hushed voices about the message. But the High priest looked horrified, and with a gesture asked for silence.

"The Elder Tribe? But, How?" he was talking to himself. Max said:

"Hey old man, could you explain please? We're not as wise as you, y'know" Then Denoth seemed to calm down and said with a clear, loud voice.

"Please hear me, people of Serland. For this is not a war for lands or our petty conflicts. If we do not raise the alarm, the world will be banished from this realm, and sent to the Outer Spheres of existence, and the Demons will claim Lordship over Weyard"

"You all know about the existence of the four Shapeshifting Tribes: Werewolves from Osenia, Werebear cities surrounding Gaia Rock in Izumo, The Sea-Folk in the Apojii Islands, and the Dragon Tribe from Gondowan, around Magma Rock. Their powers come from the four elements just as ours, but instead of the lighthouses (the purest form of an Element), theirs come from Nature, where they are combined with others"

"But nobody (except Shinryu, the leader of the inmortal Dragon Tribe) remembers now the world before the rising of the Golden Sun, and the coming of the Adepts. It was a time of war and conflict between the four tribes, and the Human race was near extinction, for they could do nothing against such mighty foes. But the Tribes were hungry for power, and they summoned powers from beyond this realm, thus opening the way to the Outer Beings. They now posessed power beyond all measure, but with that power came also what could have been our ruin. For then a new threat came from the Underworld"

"It was the Elder Tribe. The demons from beyond this realm, disguised as men, and they tried to Rule over Weyard. They could possess beasts and men, and they had powers that nobody else could dream of. Many members of the four Tribes joined them, but nobody knows the reason. Maybe they were Mind-controlled to do so. Maybe not."

"The remaining members of the Four Tribes united against this mighty foe, but they failed. It was then that the celestial forces gave Alchemy and The Golden Sun to Men, and they placed the foundations of the Lighthouses in the corners of the world. With Adepts now at their side, the Four Tribes launched an attack on the Elder Tribe, and won the battle. The Elder Tribe was destroyed forever, and it's civilization vanished from this world".

"But the Tribes knew that they would return someday, if their power was summoned again. So they helped us rebuild this world and made an oath to never call such forces again, and most of their powers were lost. The world soon was ruled by Adepts, and the Tribes retreated to their own dominions".

"Many people over the ages have asked the same question: Why are the tribes losing their powers? Now I have the answer: From the moment when they made a pact with those forces, their powers were mixed with that of the demons and its source came no longer from Nature, now it came from the Elder Tribe itself. When they were banished from the world, the Tribes lost their source of power and they have grown weak since then. I suppose the same could happen to us if the Golden Sun was lost, and Alchemy sealed".

"Now, The Elder Tribe has returned by means unknown, and they will stop at nothing to claim Weyard for themselves, and rule over it forever. We have to join the remaining Tribes to stop them, or our efforts will be doomed to fail".

Everbody was silent, and soon the fear turned into panic. King Tharden ordered silence and spoke with fear still visible on his face.

"The Elder Tribe. How could they return?. Have the Tribes forgotten about their oath so soon?" and then Joe remembered the strangely hooded man mounting the Roc.

"We saw one of them. He wears black armor and a black hood and travels on a Roc. He is leading the werewolf army. I believe it is them that have summoned the powers from beyond". He wasn't worried or scared. And he raised his voice so everyone could hear him.

"I've never heard of the Elder Tribe before, but it seems that the Four Tribes have already fallen again to their powers. The Roc only nest in the Apojii Islands where the Sea-folk dwell so neither they or the werewolves can be trusted. For now we can trust the Dragon Tribe and the Werebears, but the inmediate concern is the Mercury Lighthouse. If I'm not mistaken they will destroy it and the other three to seal Alchemy and destroy the Golden Sun. That will make us weak and we will no longer be able to protect Weyard. But now your powers have grown. Can you not feel it? Mercury lighthouse fills you with it's powers and you will have the advantage". But as he said this, Joe could feel the Mercury Lighthouse weakening him. He was aligned with Mars, and there was a good chance that his powers could not be enough to fight.Max felt it too, but he was neutral to it. And the people of Serland felt it too, they were filled with power now, and they were no longer scared.

"We will join the battle now", As he said this, King Tharden looked rejuvenated and a blue Aura seemed to emanate from him, "Go, Brave people of Serland! We'll keep the lighthouse lighted as long as we breathe! For Mercury!"

"FOR MERCURY!" They were filled with confidence now, and the battle cry was heard all over the city.

…………………….

As they left for the battlefield, The king called Joe and said "Don't think I haven't noticed. Your power grows weaker, and you won't make it out there. But you can still help us, Joe. Stay here, and draw a plan to defeat them.. My people need me out there to keep them motivated, and I need someone skilled in warfare to guide our forces. Don't dissapoint me, Djinn hunter"

"I won't, Your Majesty" Joe knew that the King would be in danger out there, but there was nothing he could do. Max headed for the Battlefield too, and he said to him "I'll protect the King. I hope you know what you're doing, Joe". And then he left, axe in hand.

But then the messengers came. One of them seemed horrified, and was almost unable to talk and barely managed to scream "T-the w-we-werewolves are c-cc-coming!" before he fell unconscious. But his companion had not lost it yet. He kneeled before the King and said:

"My King, the werewolves have reached the plains of Serland, and there are no obstacles between them and the city. And there's this huge amount of birds and beasts that come with them. And the Commander; My God, The Commander!" and as he said this a memory filled with horror reached his mind, and he took his hands to his temples. Finally, closing his eyes, he spoke.

"The Commander is probably the Devil himself. He wears a black hood with black armor. His face cannot be seen, only his eyes, and he has Huge wings under his cape. His words were colder than ice, chilling us to the bone: "Tell your so-called 'King' that we are coming" Those were his words". Then he fainted, and was taken to the ports, that had now become the medical station for the wounded in the battle.

King Tharden spoke now, his words filling the troops with hope.

"Go, People of Serland. We must not despair yet. The enemy still has not arrived, and We; the guardians of Mercury Lighthouse must not fail".

…………………..

Night fell on the city of Serland, and the werewolf army could be clearly seen from afar. The Beacon had not failed them. In fact, many of them noticed that it had never been so bright, and their powers had never been so great. Many of them practiced casting high level spells, and they noticed that their spiritual power was replenished far quickly than it used to.

Joe was busy in the royal castle, from where the whole battlefield could be seen. News came in and orders were given as quickly as He could. The Enemy army attacked from the South, and there was a good chance that more would come from the mountains near the Serland river. But when he noticed this, Joe smiled; and formulated a plan. Then he ordered them in three groups.

Group Number One, Led by the King, they would attack from the city walls. They would be the last, of course, as He hoped they could trap the Enemy army between the city and the Sea.

Group Number Two, led by Hens and his son (The most gifted warrior and adept in the city), would hold the Enemy between the mountains and the Western Entrance to the city. Joe sent a message to Hens, giving him precise instructions to pretend a retreat, and fall back behind the river. There the Adepts would use their Psynergy and flood the River, hopefully destroying the enemy forces without much effort. The most skilled in Psynergy were assigned to group Number Two, because flooding the river would be a tremendous task, even if their powers were growing. Then they would go as quickly as they could to the Eastern side and join forces with Group Number three.

Group Number Three, led by none other than Max (who was pretty happy with that) would be the first to engage the Enemy (of course, Max was happy with that too). They would be hiding in the forest near the river, and launch a surprise attack when the Enemy army passed. Of course, Max would have to cast growth a couple of times to hide his large amount of soldiers. The best warriors were assigned to him, because they would have the worst time fighting. If the forces led by Hens didn't arrived quickly, they would be cut off from the rest of the city, and that, as they knew too well, was suicide.

……………………….

The enemy sent a messenger, to set the conditions (or give the city one last chance). Their lives could be forgiven if they left pacifically and swore loyalty to the Elder tribe from now on. An arrow was launched and fell at his feet. Then using Psynergy, The King froze it. The messenger knew what that meant and retreated.

But the enemy army was moving quickly now. And nobody could tell where the mighty Commander would be.

Soon after the three groups sent their messages indicating that they were ready for action, the werewolf army attacked from the River. There were no signs of the Commander, and they marched without order or formation. Hens and his men fought for a while, holding their ground, but believing himself superior, Hens did not retreat. His people followed him, because most were members of the White Hand. But they quickly realized that their powers were not enough and asked him for orders.

"Fight! Hold your Ground! We'll not take orders from a mere traveler! Everybody, Attack!"

But as he said this, The commander appeared. He was indeed a Demon from the Outer Spheres, and as he advanced nobody could resist him. He used a Dark Mace, wich expelled an evil aura. The Wicked Mace was it called, and it was filled with hatred for everything that lived; and, when struck with it, an extremely powerul poison would rot earth, flesh and soul.

"I'll take you on, you fallen beast!" But as Hens said this, his son leapt in front of him.

"No! Father! He's too powerful for us! We must flood the river and leave!"

"I will not run away now, Imil! We must fight!" And he ran, attacking the Demon head on.

But it was useless. Hens fought valiantly, casting every Mercury Psynergy he could, but they were repelled by the Demon's armor. And then he spoke. Few of the survivors could describe that voice. Some said that he was not actually speaking, but sending his thoughts to their minds. And most felt the battle was already lost, for his words were mixed with the horror and chaos of the pits:

"You foolish old man! Nothing can stop us now! We will destroy the Adepts, and your world will be ours!"


	6. The battle of Serland

_Author's Notes: I'm the biggest Idiot ever. How didn't I realized that My fic had been reviewed? commits seppuku_

_Ouch._

_Well it's really difficult to write with a sword stabbed in your left lung, so this will be real quick._

_Master of Reality: Dude, do you know that your novelisation of the game was the inspiration for this? And you say that it's pretty good! dances with sword still stabbed Ouch. Thank you. That means a lot._

_GoldenSunGeek: The story is set in the Golden Age, and waaay before someone sealed Alchemy. That means no Isaac or Felix for a couple of Years. Maybe it should be classified as an AU, but then again I suppose it did happen. Only before the game. Thanks for reviewing._

_No one else? I suppose you're all reading AmbieChan's awesome War of Weyard fic. Doesn't matter, I'm reading it too._

_Now on with the Show!_

Episode 5: The Battle of Serland

"We can´t attack now" Max thought to himself "if they find us here, they will surround our forces quickly, and there will be no hope for Serland".

They were hiding in the forest that grew on the east side of the Serland river. The werewolf army was passing right in front of their eyes. They saw that the werewolves had joined forces with monsters from Osenia and Angara, and their forces had grown to an inmense size.

"Stupid creatures. Why join forces with those demons? It doesn't make sense. They will destroy the world"

When the enemy was at a safe distance they began following it. Hiding in the snowy fields was not difficult, but they had to watch for the wind. The werewolves could track the slightest scent for miles, in optimal conditions. Max had to wait for a signal.

The army reached the city walls. Up there, hundreds of adepts readied theis bows. The arrows were magically enhanced to freeze on impact, thus making any wound as painful as possible. However, they knew that the werewolves would cast whirlwind to block the attack. When the arrows hit the floor the spell would trigger freezing their feet on place. That was the signal.

And then it happened. The werewolves started to howl. It was a terrifying and horrible sound. The people inside the walls began to lose hope. King Tharden was busy trying to keep the army's morale as high as possible. Then, suddenly, the siege started.

The werewolves had brought huge maces and battering rams. They casted whirlwinds and bolts against the towers, trying to weaken the defenses. But Joe had expected this. A few Adepts focused only in an ice barrier. "They are fueled by the lighthouse" some said "The werewolves won't hurt us here".

Then they began to attack. Arrows were flying everywhere. Others were too busy casting Hail Prism. But the werewolves that died were quickly replaced by others. The battering Ram was near, and the King waited behind the gate. The whole army was ready. Then Joe gave the signal, and the arrows were replaced by freezing arrows.

When they were launched, the werewolves believed that they were normal arrows. But they soon regretted being so careless, as the front lines were falling down like wheat on harvest season. They countered with whirlwinds, which was exactly what the Adepts were expecting. The arrows fell on the ground, freezing them in place. When the werewolves realized the trap that they had fallen in, it was too late. Some tried to retreat but another threat came from behind.

"Now, Attack" Max was first among the troops. They came out of nowhere and charged.

It was a crushing strike, and the werewolves that marched in the last lines were easily defeated. However now that they had exposed themselves they had little precious little time to kill as many as possible. Psynergy flew everywhere, and the werewolves that were not frozen death by a sudden Glacier Attack, or crushed by falling blocks of ice, were thrown away with a sudden surge of water from the ground, the magical power of the Silver swords. Max was easily the most skilled warrior in the battle, and he attacked mostly the captains and Beasts that the werewolves were riding.

After a while though, the werewolves started to gain terrain and their forces started to regroup rapidly. Three times Max went face to face with the Captains of the Werewolf army that were crushing the Serland forces, and three times he had to unleash a Djinni to survive their deadly speed.

"There are too many of them! Fall back! Regroup! I'll hold them!" And when he made sure that the Serland forces were all behind him he lifted his hands and began summoning Cybele, the mother of all creatures.

_Oh goddess of the Earth, help us in this dire hour! Unleash your fury against those who oppose us! CYBELE!_

And as he said this a creature fell from the sky, covered in a golden Aura. It was Cybele, and a as she released some seeds in the middle of the werewolf army, huge plants started to grow. They had many poisonous thorns, and they attacked the werewolves closer to the Forces of Serland, lifting most of them from the ground, and carrying them miles and miles in the air, while others died poisoned, even if barely touched by the thorns.

"This dense forest will give us some time. Now, heal the wounded. When those plants return to where they came from, We will strike again" But as Max said this he was worried about the troops leaded by Hens. It was clear now that the demon commanding the werewolf army was not here, and that the people defending the bridge on Serland River were fighting against a terrible power.

Suddenly, a powerful shockwave was felt, and He knew that the Demon was the cause, because with the shockwave came fear and terror.

But there was no such thing as rest, and the instant that they were all healed and ready for battle, the plants dissapeared without a trace. They charged again, but the werewolf army now feared them, and ran to the Sea. But Max knew that He couldn't risk more lives. And instead of attacking in a rush, they formed lines and advanced slowly. They were attacking with more powerful Psynergy know, and even Max could feel the cold that the Silver Swords irradiated. From the moment that they touched the skin of the Enemy, a cold burn appeared and quickly turned into a block of ice. The Mercury Adepts were now reaching inmense amounts of power and the Werewolves attacked with the power of the wind. Thunder met snow, and the wind faced the power of ice. And then, just when the Werewolves started to counter attack, Max saw the river flooding, and the hearts of the Serland people were filled with hope.

But just when his three Djinn were set again, Max heard the terrible news. Hens had Fallen against the power of the shadow.

………………………….

"You foolish old man! Nothing can stop us now! We will destroy the Adepts, and this world will be ours forever!"

The Demon raised his hand and sent forth wave after wave of Darkness. Hens put up a barrier of Ice and resisted with the help of his mighty Mythril shield. But soon the powerful spell was too much for him. The Ice barrier was broken and he was now powerless against the spells of the powerful creature. The Demon charged a powerful attack in his left hand and sent it against the leader of the Order of the White Hand. A huge explosion threw everyone, man or werewolf to the ground, and the shockwave was felt all across the battlefield. When dust settled and the Serland forces saw again, there was no trace of him. He had been wiped out from the face of Weyard.

It was then that Imil, son of Hens and succesor to his father, realized the true power of the Demon, and he was quiet, while all around him the forces of Serland and the Werewolf Army still clashed. But he was a strong warrior with a pure heart, and he was wiser than the Elders of the Order, even at his age. He knew what to do, and overcoming his fear and sorrow cried out loud the orders that his stubborn father refused to accept "Everyone fall back behind the River! We will avenge our leader, and the death of our brothers! Now!" and they feigned retreat.

But even when they were safely beyond the bridge, the werewolf attacks were more and more powerful, and the wind was filled with fear and despair. But Imil had a strong sense of leadership, and, rising his voice above all the howling and the laughter of the Demon he cried:

"NOW! FLOOD THE RIVER!"

What happened next was something that most people could not believe, even those that were there and helped. The Great River Serland, powered with the Psynergy of hundreds of Adepts, rised from its course and flooded the Lands beyond the Bridge. Not a single werewolf was left when it finished, and from that day on the course of the river was changed, as seen in the maps that were drawn after the battle. But the dark energy of the Demon was prepared for such an attack. He spread his wings and flew to the East, to command his army, in the last attack against the walls of serland.

…………………………..

"We cannot join them yet".

Tharden was a wise and fearless leader. For almost five hundred years he had ruled with wisdom, and the kingdom was filled with prosperity. He was the last of his bloodline, and everyone loved him. But when battling, he felt alive again, and he could wait no longer while his troops met the enemy head-on. But the orders from Joe were to wait until his signal.

But Joe looked at the battlefield. He was waiting for the flood, as it was the sign that the west entrance was safe, and the people of Hens were marching east. But it was nowhere to be seen. The messengers arrived with a message from Hens. He would not follow his orders, and there was no reason to flood the river. He and his men would fight the Elder One, and they would succeed. Joe knew what this meant, and called the King to an urgent meeting.

"Your Highness, Hens will not listen, and he will fight against the Demon to the Last Man. If we don't act now, their forces will fail, and the werewolves will enter the city from the West Side. But there's something we can do…"

He knew what the King would say. He knew the King would not wait here. But if the King died against such power, the moral of the people would come crashing down. Who would guide the people of Serland then? But before he finished, Tharden stood up and the strength of mercury lighthouse filled him. He turned to the battlefield. It was a fearsome sight indeed. Instead of the Frozen lands that sparkled like silver, there was blood and death, and the Demon was out there, probably laughing at him, killing at will. He turned to Joe, filled with the glory of the frozen lands and the power of the Lighthouse, and made his choice.

"We will help them. I do not fear this creature, and I will not let him stain our lands with his presence".

Then a huge explosion was seen, and a powerful shockwave of terror was felt. The air seemed dark and soon everyone knew the reason. Hens had fallen under the Shadow. But soon their grief turned to hope, For the river was flooding, and the werewolves that attacked from the West were now floating dowstream, along the new course of the river.

Then King Tharden gathered his Men and marched to battle. He was riding a great and brave horse, entirely white, with mythril bridles and golden reins. His sword hit the Enemies with the power of the sea, and they feared him and ran. Then he went face to face with the Elder one.

Tharden knew the power of his enemy. The Demon raised his Mace and struck, but he evaded it and the poison from the mace expanded like a cloud. Then He countered with the Mythril Blade, but the Demon shielded himself with his wings. He then casted his most powerful attacks.

Cutting Edge! the Demon was too agile. It laughed as it deflected Hail Prisms and Froth Spirals, and he knew that the King could not keep up with the bolts of darkness and the Dark Mist that emanated from him.

Then it spread its wings and took off from the ground. He began charging his most powerful attack again. But the king realized it just in time, and shielded himself and his army with an ice barrier.

But He was in front, and the attack was too much for him to take. As the ice barrier dissapeared, the king's strength failed as well. He slowly fell to his knees and, looking at his enemy, realized the power of the Outer beings. But before his legs lost the strenght to support him, Imil grabbed him.

"My Lord! Please hold on! We will heal this wounds in no time! Please don't die, my lord…". But king Tharden, the brave and fearless king of all Serland, was no longer able to move. He grabbed Imil's hand and looking into his eyes, he said "You are now the King, Imil. Take my sword, and swear that you will defeat this being".

Imil took the Mythril Sword, and he swore to slay the Demon, and to avenge his King. The sword glowed blue and Imil stood up against the powerful entity.

"I will avenge my King! With this Sword, and my Might, you will be banished from this realm!"

Imil charged. The Demon knew that He was a worthy adversary, and it thought of playing with him for a while, so it defended with the Mace. The blow was powerful, but It held it's own against the brave adept. Then it raised it's mace and struck vertically. Imil blocked with his shield but the blow destroyed it completely, forcing him to take a defensive stance. The Demon laughed again and walked towards him slowly. Then Imil tried with Psynergy.

"Glacier!" He cried. Several shards of ice appeared and formed a giant block of ice around the Demon, trapping him. But the Demon shattered the ice easily, and continued to walk towards Imil.

"Freeze Prism!" Several blocks of ice appeared and fell on the Demon, who kept walking as if nothing. Then Imil readied his Sword. Maybe the power of Psynergy alone was not enough against this creature.

"Plume Edge!" he cried desperately. A geyser appeared under the Demon, taking it by surprise. Imil slashed with the Mythril Sword, and the Demon fell backwards. Then Imil striked again, aiming for the Demon's head. But he was hit by it's wings, and sent backwards. The Demon stood up again, and charged. But Imil reacted just in time.

"Diamond Berg!"

The temperature dropped suddenly around the Demon, who was trapped inside a huge iceberg. Imil slashed fiercely at the iceberg, going deeper and deeper, each slash destroying parts of the demon's armor, and when He reached the center, He decapitated it. There was a sudden flow of energy into the Elder, and, with a horrible shriek, it faded into nothingness.

The werewolves were terrified now, as there was no hope for them. They were all pushed into the frozen sea of Serland. But a few were left alive and taken to prison so they could interrogate them.

………………………

The following day, after Imil was declared the new King, and the city renamed, an urgent meeting was held in the palace. They had to decide what to do against this threat. They had precious little time to waste, as the werewolves from Osenia were numerous, and the Eastern Sea was perilous now, The Sea-folk were supposedly allies of the Elder Ones so travelling by Sea was not an option. But Joe proposed something different.

"The Anemos?" said King Imil.

"Yes, the Anemos. The wind Adepts from Atteka. They travel the skies with their ships. If we could send a messenger there, we'd have no problems to travel around the world.".

"It's too far away, our armies cannot travel such a great distance for now". Imil was right. They had to recover their strength and call upon the alliances of Old, with the Kingdoms of Vale, to the West; Prox, to the North; and Xian, to the South.

"Xian is most likely in ruins now" Said Max. He had been 'interrogating' the werewolf.

"It is as we feared. Most of the Sea-dwellers are allies with the Demons, including King Poseidon. But a few rebelled and they were banished from their frontiers. They are hiding in the city of Soliena, west of here.".

"The Were-bear tribe was called but they refused. It seems that King Astart knows what's best for his people. Some of them joined forces with the Demons, though. It seems that their headquarters are in North Osenia, and the Demons Base lies in their eastern borders, beyond the Baloo Range. But when we asked them about the Dragon Tribe, they said that they would not deal with them".

"Good", said Denoth, the High Priest of the city "King Shinryu knows more about them than anyone else in the world. Some even say that He remembers the day before the Golden Sun rised. He will not join them. And the dragon tribe, even if somewhat wild, are also wise and powerful".

"Then we must contact them. We must join forces with them if we hope to win this war. I've also sent our fastest ships to Soliena. The Sea-dwellers must not be called to the Demons side".

"I'll go West", said Joe "We will need the Anemos and their flying ships before we even think of attacking Osenia".

"I'll pay a visit to King Raniel of Vale", said Imil "His cities are probably the next target of the Demon Army, and they have lived so peacefully through this age that their soldiers are now just guards and messengers"

"What if the Werebears are being attacked? Shouldn't we help them? They are fierce warriors, and Izumo is a valuable stronghold".

"No. Izumo is probably being sieged by King Poseidon's troops even as we speak. They will have to defend themselves. But don't worry, Max. They are indeed fierce warriors, and I doubt that they will be defeated so easily".

A messenger entered the Chamber. He was wearing the armor of Vale's soldiers and He had a scroll stained with blood.

"King Imil! I bring word from King Raniel of Vale. We must join against the threat of the Demon Army! Our scouts have seen a huge force landing on The lands of Xian, beyond the Lamarkan Desert. Werewolves, Were-bears and Sea-dwellers are joining against the Adepts! You must send forces in our aid!"

"King Raniel's domains are large indeed. We will send as many people as we can to Vale, but we can't send all of our forces to war, and leave none for our city. Rest here for tonight, brave messenger. Tomorrow at sunrise you will leave".

"I'll go with you", Joe said "I don't believe that all the werewolves were slain in the battle, and there's probably a lot more in the lands of Bilibin and Kolima, and their scouts will hunt you down, now that they know that you carry important information with you".

"I'll go, too." Max seemed worried "The people of Gondowan must be informed of this. And We must also meet the King of the Dragon Tribe"

"I agree. Soon, gentlemen, the Adepts of the world will have to join again as one, and fight against this common enemy".

But as Joe retired to his room, there was something that did not feel entirely right. He thought about the Djinni. Their origins were shrouded in mistery. What were they? Where did they came from? Why would an Army of hundreds of werewolves need a single Djinni? Did they knew something about them besides their ability to join powers with their wielder? And why would the Demons want this power?

But as King Imil said, tomorrow they would fight against a common enemy. And the fate of the world rested in their hands.


	7. The Road to Vale

_I don't own Golden Sun. Really, I don't. Seriously._

_Felix: He doesn't. If he did, I wouldn't have been mute in TLA._

_Issac: And I wouldn't have been mute in the first game._

_Kraden: ..._

Episode 6: The road to Vale

The following day, Joe went to the King's chambers before leaving. Max and the messenger from Vale were there already.

"Ah, Joe! Thank you for joining us. You said that you will escort this man to Vale, didn't you? Well, I think it's time for you to leave. But before you leave, let me give you this present. It will aid you in your travels".

It was a small bottle, made of a single piece of sapphire, with Mercury lighhouse engraved in it. Joe had no idea of what it was, but the King said:

"This is the water of Hermes. Usually it is collected from the Lighhouse and used in the city, but this sample has been treated with many magical plants and herbs. It will heal anything. A single drop will make a tree grow taller than most, but it will also revive those about to die. If you encounter any undead creature, the smell of this potion will destroy it. It is truly the most powerful potion here or anywhere on Weyard". Imil seemed pleased with himself.

"Thank you, your highness." said Max "I'm sure we will find it useful. But I was expecting weapons or shields or something else, you know? My axe's edges have dulled from all those werewolves.".

Imil seemed surprised, but he only smiled and called a guard. The guard left and returned with a Mace and a Ring, carried in a blue pillowcase.

"This is the Cleric's Ring. It will protect you from any curse. If you wear this you will not fear any hideous 'side-effect', from any weapon or armor on Weyard".

Max took the Ring and put it on. It sparkled blue for a second.

"And this is something you will surely recognize".

The guard handed him the Mace. It glowed ominously. Max realized inmediatly what it was.

"It's the Mace that the Demon was carrying!".

"Yes. We've called it the Evil Mace. I had it recovered and studied by our sages. It's very powerful, but it's cursed. It will control you if you wear it without the Ring".

He took the Mace. It was heavier and sturdier than a normal Mace, and it glowed red for a split second, but then the Ring sparkled blue again, and the Mace returned to normal.

"And now, Farewell my dear friends. I pray for your safe travel to Vale".

…………………

"After leaving lands of Serland we must turn East, past the bridges. Then south to Bilibin and West into the lands of Vale". Joe was signaling the route in the map. His finger moved to the left, and he marked the mountains surrounding Serland. "If this mountains weren't here, we could travel very quickly to Vale. But those mountains have also shielded Vale from the werewolves, until now at least".

It was a magic map. It showed their location and also towns, cities, and even people. They had given a small amount of psynergy to it, so they were shown moving east from the cave were they had fought Seth, and reaching the first river crossing.

"Back in Vale, I heard that King Raniel was planning to build a mountain pass here, north of Bilibin" The messenger seemed to know the King very well. "I guess it's not a very good idea now, but if they actually built it, the troops from Serland would reach Vale in less than a week".

He was a tall man. His blonde hairfalling overhis deep grey eyes. His hair also revealed that he was a Wind Adept. But he seemed like a quiet person, lover of tranquility and peace. Hewas wearingonly a travel vest and a light sword, but again, his constitution was not precisely meant for carrying huge axes and heavy armors.

"Okay, but how do you know all of this? I thought you were just a messenger." asked Max.

"He's a Djinn hunter like us". Said Joe " Your djinn are hiding in your necklace, right?"

The man seemed surprised, but he nodded.

"Did you guess this only by looking at me?" he asked.

"No," said Joe "your necklace is hanging outside your shirt". And he pointed at it. The man quickly hid it.

"Well I'm not very good at this secrecy stuff, am I?"

"No, you're not".

Max just grinned.

………………..

After two days of travelling, they were in the Western Borders of Bilibin. Max looked at the map again. They were not very far from the mountain pass that separated Vale and Xian. A huge watchtower could be seen a little further to the South, and the ruins of Bilibin lay behind them. Heading Southwest, they reached the passage, only to find it closed.

"Who goes there! You cannot pass!" shouted the guard.

"I'm Leng, the Djinn hunter! I've returned from my mision in Serland. Open the gate!" Leng showed a signed authorization.

"Oh! sorry Lord Leng, but the King's orders are not to open this gate to anyone. If you wish to travel to Vale, you must travel further south, and pass through the secret underground passage".

"What! Do you realize that these lands are full of werewolves now? How can you expect me to travel there unnoticed?"

"I'm terribly sorry Lord Leng, but orders are orders. I can only pray for your safety".

"Ok. We will go through the secret passage. But our travel will not go unnoticed. Let's go".

………………….

"So where's this "secret underground passage" again?" said Max "we've been travelling two days and there's no trace of it"

"It's a little further south" said Leng, examining the map "If we go around this forest we will lose a day, but if we go through…"

"You fear that we might encounter the enemy" Joe said calmly. "We'll go through the forest. I feel an ominous presence in there. Maybe some ghosts but nothing serious".

"If you say so… But if anything happens it's not my fault".

After entering the forest they relied only in the map to show them the way out. But something was not quite right. They felt something following them very closely. But every time they tried to catch it off guard, they found nothing but trees.

"This is really getting on my nerves." Said Max. "Show yourself! Come here and fight, dammit!"

"Calm down, Max." Said Leng "If it wants to attack us it will do it somewhere where it has the advantage".

A few hours later they realized that the map was not showing the exit. Instead it seemed to lead them deeper and deeper into the forest. The sky grew dark and the sunset signaled the end of a day. But the moon didn't appear. They decided to light some torches to find their way in the night, but the torches only lit a small area around them. After hours of marching they decided to rest in aplace strangely devoid of any trees.

Leng seemed calm considering the situation. Joe lay against a tree, his eyes fixed on the small fire before them. Max had his mace firmly clutched in hand. There was complete silence around them. Finally Max stood up and said:

"Hey Joe, why don't you burn this whole forest down? We should have been outta here hours ago!"

"No. An evil force is at work here. Look". He raised his hands and created a fireball. Then he sent it out towards a huge tree. The fireball exploded on impact, but the tree was not even bruised.

Then they heard a sinister laughter echoing throughout the forest.

"There's…. no…. way… out……" a voice said. It came from nowhere.

"You… cannot…..escape….". There was a pause. Then they heard the voice say "You…. will… die…."

"Hah, who do you think we are?" Max looked all around readying his mace " Show yourself and fight if you dare!"

"At last"Joe reached into his backpack "A perfect opportunity to try the gift from King Imil."

He opened the bottle. A fresh and invigorating smell came from it. Suddenly the voice seemed to come from various places at once.

"The Water of Hermes! Gyaaa!" Then some of the trees dissapeared, leaving behind only some leaves. Leng took one from the ground. A strange red mark appeared on it's surface.

"This is the sign of the crypt-lords." He said, "I guess they summoned some spirits to possess this leaves and take us deeper into the forest".

"They're probably working for the demons" Max said "They know who we are, and where are we going".

Suddenly, a man appeared near them. He wore a strange mask, and his clothes were like those of the priests, but instead of the white color that they wore, these were pitch black, with red borders on the sleeves. He also had a bracelet on each arm. They were black, and had strange inscriptions on them.

"Who are you! How did you defeated all of my spirits?"

"They were no threat to us" said Max "but who are you? Why did you bring us here?"

"Know only that you will join my army of the undead!" And as he said this a powerful and evil aura was felt across the forest.

"I'm the Demon Eacus! And soon you will call me master! Go!" He then made a sign with his hands and suddenly hundreds of zombies and undead monsters appeared.

"The water of Hermes won't help you now! They are not moving on their own, instead, it is my will that makes them move!"

The trio of djinn hunters soon found their hands full. Zombies were not the least of their worries, as there were also orcs and trolls among them.

Moving swiftly, Joe parried all of the attacks with his sword, and countered with fire walls and eruptions. "they are not only stronger, but faster too" he thought.

"Geez, there's no end to their numbers!" Max said. The evil mace seemed to enjoy killing all of them, but it's poison was useless against the zombies. He mostly attacked orcs and trolls.

Joe took of his ring and tossed it to Leng. He jumped and catched it in mid-air, and He inmediatly unleashed the power of the djinni. That gavehim a huge advantage over the zombies. He was as swift as the wind, and his sword seemed to move almost on its own.

"This is taking too long. If we don't do something soon..." Leng thought. And then he saw something strange on the demon's robes. The sleeves were getting darker! Then he realized his trick.

"His clothes are filled with the blood of these creatures! That's how he controls them!" and he charged against him.

But the demons were not precisely known for their weakness. When Leng attacked, his sword was deflected easily by the demon's bracelet. It countered with a swift punch to the chest, which Leng evaded barely.

"He's too fast!" he thought, but another hit with the demon's palm made him lose balance. Some zombies grabbed his legs and inmobilized him.

"Plasma!"

A powerful bolt of lightning later and he was free. But the demon was not even bruised. It charged a powerful attack in it's hands and released it, pointing at Leng.

Somehow Leng managed to unleash another djinni which shielded him from the attack. But he was now much weaker than when he started. He was not powerful enough to take on the Demon, and they still needed to destroy the monsters. He found an easy solution.

"Joe! Unleash one of your djinni!"

Joeunleashed Cannon. A powerful blast of pure mars Psynergy attacked the Orc Lord that he was fighting against, burning it to mere ashes.

Leng raised his hands to the sky concentrating. As if to answer his wishes, the clouds gathered around the forest. Then he said:

_"Oh, powerful Goddess of Vengeance, burn all of our enemies with your fiery tornado! Megaera!_

A second later two giant swords fell from the sky. Suddenly both exploded into a tornado made of fire, burning everything around them. Then Megaera, the goddess of vengeance itself, appeared and took each sword in one hand. She smiled to them and dissapeared.

"So, Eacus, let's see what can you do, now that you're all alone" said Max " Take this!" and he charged with the mace.

"No! Stop!" Joe shouted, but it was too late. The demon sent a powerful blast of dark energy against Max, who landed on nearby trees. Luckily, he was only bruised. Leng decided to try with Psynergy. "Spark Plasma!" He cried. Several bolts began to form above the Demon, who concentrated his energy on a barrier. Joe and Max used this chance to attack from behind. Max unleashed Ground, holding the Demon in place.

"Searing Beam!" A huge beam of fire formed in front of Joe, and was then launched against the Demon. Taken by surprise, it was unable to deflect it, and was sent flying against the trees, knocking down a few. But it was not enough. The Demon began to glow, and concentrated all of his power in one final attack.

"You are going to die! Even if this attack kills me, My Lord will bring me back to this world as a reward! DARK BEAM!"

"He's gonna take out the entire forest with that!" Leng said.

"No, he won't" said Max "Mold!" A golden sign, resembling a djinni, appeared on the demon's chest; just when it released the Dark Beam.

Joe knew what that meant. And He reacted just in time. "Flash! Now!" A red barrier appeared in front of them and the Dark Beam of the Demon turned right back against him. The resulting explosion was strong enough to destroy a large area of the forest around them. When the dust settled, they saw that there was no trace of him, or of the monsters for that matter.

With the Demon destroyed, the forest (or what was left of it) was no longer filled with the dark aura. The light of the sunrise was enough to clean any evil that was left in it.

"So where's this secret passage again?" Max said, picking up his bags.

"A little further south" said Leng, grinning.


	8. A friendly monster?

_(A/N): Chapter 7 is up. It took a long time to update, because I'm planning the general course of events. I had five chapters written before I uploaded the first one, and I have twenty one chapters in production, with only the 'chapter guide' as I like to call it. Even I'm amazed at what I've come up with. But don't fret, my faithful followers (yeah, I know you are reading even if you don't review. That's just lazy), this story here WILL finish. MARK MY WORDS!. But I'm uploading more slowly though. It IS difficult to write in another language, you know. _

_Now, I give you Chapter 7: A friendly monster?._

Chapter 7: A friendly monster?

"At last!" said Max "I was thinking we'd never get to Vale".

They were on the other side of the Goma Range. Two days had passed since they left the secret passage, and four since defeating Eacus, the Crypt-lord.

Leng was tired. The monsters had invaded the cave, and most of them were weak to Wind. He had been casting plasma and tornado every 2 minutes for almost 48 hours. Even the map was useless there, since nobody ever took the time to chart the cave, and now there where monster tunnels everywhere. He really needed a rest.

Joe, on the other side, was calm, as usual. Even though he was tired, he didn't needed a rest that badly. However, their supplies were running out, and Vault was a few days far. So, they decided to rest in the Inn, buy supplies and hopefully leave town in the morning.

Little did they know that a pair of round, blue eyes were watching them.

"Welcom to Sanria, the Eastern most city of the kingdom of the Golden Valley!" said a guard at the gates "You look like warriors. Maybe you can help us out with a little problem here"

"If that problem involves too much left-overs after a party, we're on it" said Max.

"Well, actually is more like getting rid of a pesky little devil. He's stealing our food, and he's always doing some 'practical jokes' around. Look over there".

They followed the man's gaze and found a house filled with plants. Flowers came out of it's windows and a few branches had already destroyed part of the roof.

"That was made with Psynergy. It's a powerful monster, and we've tried to corner it sometimes, but he always escapes".

"Ok, leave it to us" said Leng "of course, we'll have to ask something in return".

"And what would that be?"

"Free supplies" said Joe. "We'll take care of it, and you'll give us enough supplies to travel to Vault"

"Seems good enough" he said "I'll leave it in your hands". And then he looked at the house again.

"Who would have guessed it? They were only children..."

"Excuse me?" said Leng.

"No, nothing. Please enter"

"So what do we know about this thing?" asked Leng.

"We know it's aligned with Venus" said Max. "That spell it's called Wild Growth, and it's quite an advanced spell".

"We'll split up" said Joe " I'll go near the well. Max, you go around that house. He'll probably return to admire his creation"

"Or, maybe I'll go to the Tavern and take care of the wine. Don't want to risk losing it, y'know".

"Whatever".

"I'll go to that house" said Leng "There's something suspicious in all of this. It will return there".

"If anything happens, cast a light on your position and we'll be there inmediatly" said Joe " It may want to escape, and we must leave for Vault as soon as we can"

That night, Joe was sitting near the well. A beatiful park to honor the Sun god was nearby. A pedestal stood in the center, and an old, muscular man was standing in it. He kept the Sun in his left hand, and a key (the keys to knowledge and power) in his right hand. Joe knew that he remembered seeing something quite like it before, only he couldn't remember where.

Then He saw it. A small creature, with several thorns on his back and big blue eyes. Joe knew that it was the creature that they were looking for, and he casted a big orb of red light towards the sky. The creature noticed him and ran away, but He ran after it, making the orb follow him. They reached a dead end, and then he gave a good look at the creature.

It was Venus Djinni! The creature knew that this time it wouldn't be easy to lose its pursuer, and quickly casted Mad Growth in front of Joe, who cut it with his flaming sword. When Joe entered the alley, He saw it running on the roof of the nearby house. He jumped after it. When he reached the roof, the djinni was already jumping for the next house. He ran after it.

"Joe!"

Leng was on the roof right next to him. They jumped from roof to roof to catch up with the Djinni, who was getting away.

"I'm here too little fella!" Max suddenly appeared in front of the creature and hit it with his powerful Mace. The poison soon took it's toll on the Djinni, that used every ounce of energy left for one final attack. It suddenly began to glow with Psynergetic light, and casted several Spires at the Three Adepts.

"That's not gonna work" said Leng "You better surrender and come with us".

The djinni took a step back and fell through a hole in the roof. They jumped after it.

They were in a room filled with food. Something moved in the Shadows and walked towards the Djinni, that was lying on the floor. It was a kid! He was covered in rags and full of ashes. Soon others followed and they began to cast cure at it. However, He wasn't getting any better. Leng walked towards him and gave him a plant with blue flowers.

"Eat. It will cure the poisoning". He said. The Djinni obediently ate it all.

"Who are you? Why aren't you in your houses?" said Max.

"We have no home. We're orphans from Bilibin" said one of them.

"And why are you in this room?"

"Nobody wanted us in their houses. They believed that we might have been cursed"

"What curse?..." Leng asked, but Joe knew exactly what the kid meant.

"The curse of the werewolves" He said quietly "If a werewolf shares his blood with you, you will become one of them".

"But we were not hurt! We left the city before they came from the South!"

"And what have you been doing this whole time?" asked Max.

"We tried to live in this city. They gave us an abandoned house. We all lived in it with Flint..."

"Flint?"

"The Djinni. He was one of my dad's Djinn" .

"So you're the son of Bilibin's governor" said Leng " And why did you leave the house?"

"Flint wanted to make an appropiate house for us. But the money that we earned was not enough to make another one so..."

"He casted that spell and filled it with flowers". finished Joe.

"It was so beatiful that the mayor of this city wanted the house. He said that he would throw us out of this city if we didn't gave it to him. And He was the one that thought about his whole werewolf thing! He throwed us out of there, with nothing to eat, no money, and no work! Flint has been bringing us food since then..." He cried.

"That son of a..."

"Calm down, Max". Joe said " We'll take care of it. I want all of you to come with me"

"What! How dare you!"

The mayor could not believe what he saw. The whole town was in an uproar. Now everybody knew what he had done.

"You're not gonna put me in jail! Guards! Guards! Arrest this people! I want them all in the deepest dungeon!"

"That ain't gonna happen, sir. You are under arrest for violating the laws of King Raniel, that states that orphans have the right to a new home and a a new family. You will come with me"

"Aaagh! Let go of me! Let go! You'll pay for this warriors! You'll PAY!"

The soldiers put him in jail. The new mayor (who was selected by the people, and turned out to be the soldier standing guard at the front gate) gave them a handsome reward in gold coins.

"Well, guess that's it then. Thank you warriors. I wish that there was something else I could do to repay you"

"Well, you can do something about these kids" said Leng. "As an official messenger of King Raniel, I command you to turn that house into an orphanage. These and any other orphans can live there for as long asthey wish".

They were given their old house back. Also, many people had offered to adopt them, since they realized that the mayor was lying.

"Thanks warriors." said the kid from before "You have saved us. I wish I could help you too..."

"Yes, you can" said Joe "Do you remember hearing anything about the werewolf army, back in Bilibin?"

"We know that they came from the South. Wait, I heard that they were planning an attack on Ankohl and Xian!".

"Ankohl..." said Max.

"They're awfully close to Lemuria" said Leng. "It's only natural that they were a target"

"But Ankohl has not yet been defeated. The Hephaestus stronghold is nearly impossible to conquer". replied Max.

"However, they might also attack from the Sea" said Joe "King Poseidon's wrath is terrible and he'll be probably leading his troops".

"In any case, we must go to Vault quickly. King Raniel must be informed of all this" said Max. But just when they were leaving the city, The orphan catched up with them.

"Wait! there is something that I can give you. Here, take him". And Hegave the Djinni to Max.

"I know you're a Djinn hunter. I could feel it. Flint will aid you in your travels".

"Thanks. Come Flint! There are many monsters out there!"

Flint nodded. Then he began spinning very quickly, and burrowed. suddenly, several orbes of golden light rose to the sky, and floated down towards Max, entering his body. Then, a thirdTopaz appeared in his left hand.

"Good bye, Flint! Be careful out there!"

"Ok, now I have five Djinn. Joe has five too, and Leng has five. that makes us even". Max said.

"If you want to keep score, then yeah, we're even." said Leng

"What do you say Joe? Who do you think will find the next Djinni?"

"Me, of course" He said calmly.

"What? Ok, I'll take that as a bet. Whoever gets hissixth Djinni last will have to pay for everything the others buy or use for a week. What do you say Leng?"

"I'm in. How about you Joe?"

"Whatever" He replied.

The city of Vault was still two days away,and they knew that they had to hurry, as the War had just begun. But somehow, Joe felt that this was a very long trip.


	9. Revelations

Chapter 8: Revelations

Joe and his friends had finally reached Vault. It was a huge city, The largest city in the kingdom of Adepts, The kingdom of the Golden Valley, known to everybody as Vale. Vault was known to be exactly that: a giant vault, as it contained the treasures of the Four Parts of the Kingdom. It was a thriving city, truly the joy of the Kingdom. With the sacred city of the Wise to North, and the Karagol to the West. To the East were the most pacific regions of Lebatin and Bilibin, and protected to the South by the river of Gold, the Reill. Further South was the deadly Lamarkan Desert, home to Bandits and thieves of all sorts. But none of this mattered now. The people of Vault believed that the blessing of the Gods came from the North, and the blessing of the Men from the West.

Leng knew the city very well, having charted every little alley in his map. They advanced through hordes of Merchants, Inns and Statues, finnally appearing in the Grand Plaza. It was a huge garden, full of trees, birds and clear, bright water. They walked right through it to the Palace, which was a magnificent building. It was all covered in gold and silver, and the windows were made of gems. They represented the history of Weyard, and there were the scenes that everybody had heard, but few refused to accept as history, Including the Rise of the Golden Sun, the Sealing of the Elder Ones, and the Kings of the Four Tribes.

"Wow!" said Max "I gotta admit that this is the most impressive palace I 've seen! But how the hell did they built something this big!"

"The people of Vale have been building it for a long time" said Leng "In fact, it's not complete yet. The inner sanctum is still under construction. Can you see the smoke coming from the highest tower"

"I see it" said Joe "Vault has been building this palace for generations. Let's hope that they finish it before the Demons finish us"

That brought them back to reality. They had to meet the King. Leng was honoured by everyone, and they went easily to the King's Chamber, placed in the Center of the castle, and fifty feet above the entrance.

The golden gates opened and they entered. The Chamber was well lit, and full of Golden statues. They represented the four godesses: Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and most importantly, The sun god Sol and his wife, Luna. The three djinn hunters kneeled before King Raniel, who looked at them smiling.

King Raniel was a Red haired Man, with deep brown eyes. He was said to be a descendant of the dragon tribe, for He was tall and well-built. Many marveled at how he could use many kinds of Psynergy with a mastery that only the true adepts of the corresponding clans were able of. He was known all across Weyard for his strong sense of justice, which he inherited from his long dead father. He was known also for his piety, and every day He sent gold to those who showed that they really needed it. King Raniel was loved by his people.

"Come on, rise brave Djinn hunters!" He said "I see you've completed your mission, Leng. What news do you bring from Serland?"

"I bring good and bad news, Your Majesty" He answered " Know that King Tharden of Serland has died, and so has the Leader of the Order of the White Hand, Hens. His son, Imil, slayed the Demon, avenging both his King and his Father in one Blow. He is now the New King of Serland".

"I see" said King Raniel, and his smile dissapeared "Tharden was a good friend of mine, I always seeked for his advice when I was young. He was the last of his Bloodline. I feel that in a very far future, instead of Serland City, people will visit the Mighty city of Imil".

"I hope so, your Majesty. King Imil has promised me that He will send his strongest warriors in our aid".

"Good. I hope that He has a long life. But I feel that the Death of King Serland and Hens are not the only bad news that you bring, my dear friend",

"You are correct, your majesty. For we have collected info from some of the werewolves and the survivors of Bilibin. The Demon's army has destroyed the mighty kingdom of Xian. The people of the Werebear tribe are surrounded, although we don't know how are they doing, and they may be attacking the Ankohl cities even as we speak".

"I can tell you about that, Leng. A messenger came from Ankohl and few days ago. Most of the coastal cities and towns are destroyed. Some of the surviving were-bears have taken refuge in the Hephaestus stronghold. The Sea-dwellers attack from the south, and the werewolves attack from the east. The people of Ankohl have been trapped between the Sea and the Mountains. I only whish that they can survive long enough, as I´ve already sent five hundred Warriors, all of them well trained and powerful Adepts. They will keep the city safe for some time, and I'm already summoning the greatest army that this Kingdom has ever seen".

"But my lord, there's a good chance that the werewolves will strike from the Goma Range too. I suppose that you have already prepared our defenses in the Eastern cities?"

"Of course, Leng. A good King takes everything in consideration. If you look at the full picture, you will understand many things".

Then Raniel looked at the two other Djinn hunters. His smile returned, bright as ever.

"Joe and Max. Two of the most gifted warriors and adepts in the world. Haveyou signedin one of the Innsalready? I can offer you a comfortable shelter here. What do you say?"

"I would be honored, Your Highness" said Joe " But I fear that I cannot stay for long, as I have a very long travel ahead of me".

"You will try to summon the Anemos Giants, right?" King Raniel seemed worried " It will be a very difficult journey, Joe. I have but one advice for you, and is this: You must learn to trust and care about people if you wish to survive. And I will say nothing more".

Joe nodded, and looked down. He didn't understand why had the King said that, but He felt that it was an advice worth taking.

"How about you Max? Will you stay and tell me some of your adventures?"

"Of course, your Majesty. But you will have to tell me when to stop, because I have tales for at least a week straight".

"Excelent. Guard, prepare a Feast. We will honor King Tharden who fought and died so valiantly, in the Battle of the Frozen Fields"

"Yes, your Majesty"

"And please show these two to their bedrooms. They are my guests and will stay here as long as they need to".

"Of course, Your Majesty. Please follow me".

There were many halls in the palace of King Raniel, but the hall chosen for the feast faced northeast, towards the frozen fields. Many people were invited to the feast, including Joe and Max, that were sitting near the King. Leng was sitting at his left side and Prince Lionel was sitting at his right side. The nine senators (three for each region of the Kingdom) were sitting around the table. Around them several more tables had been arranged, and all of them were full of silver dishes and golden cups. But while Joe wasn't eating very much, Max had already eaten three times more than everyone else in the table.

One of the senators had a long beard and wore a starred cloak. He looke quite old, and cunning, like someone who has gained many enemies with his decisions. He was discussing about the need to ask the four tribes for help.

"...and the Dragon tribe are merely waiting for a chance to betray us, I think, And let's not forget that Shinryu has already allied with the Demons once. What other proof do you want? We can't trust anyone, My liege, or we will be destroyed. And who are those commoners sitting at our table? Spies of the Demons, perhaps?"

"You are wrong, my dear Felion" said King Raniel. "These are djinn hunters and heroes, they have scorted my friend Leng from Serland".

"Djinn Hunters!" he said, with a certain disdain " I thought they were ruffians. But Serland is a land filled with weak Adepts. They have not learned to use the power of the lighthouse correctly" he added with a certain malice in his eyes.

"Maybe Lord Felion can teach us how to use the powers of the lighthouse correctly?" said Max, clearly enraged.

"Oh, yes I could 'djinn-hunter'. However I think that your limited ability might not understand all that I could say, although I could put it in a plate full of... is that fried rat? Maybe nobody minds if you eat it. I know I don't". All the senators laughed at the joke, and Max blushed deeply.

Joe stood up. He looked calm as usual, but his eyes were fiery pits, and the senators stopped laughing.

"Serland is not full of weak adepts, Lord Felion. King Tharden was not a weak Adept, and King Imil is very powerful. His slaying of the Demon proves his skills, and his people are all skilled healers. Perhaps if you ever left your palace, and made some friends instead of just flatterers, you could see for yourself. And now if you'll excuse me, I must go".

"How dare you!" said Felion. His bloodshot eyes were wide open. " Guards, put him in jail!"

"I have not given such an Order, Felion" said Raniel "And you must learn to be little more courteous with our guests".

"B-b-but King Raniel! Will you allow this... this... 'Djinn-hunter' to get away with this? He's humilliated the Entire Senate!"

"Perhaps He had his reasons, Felion. For now, let him be".

Joe walked aimlessly through the city. His mind set on the advice of King Raniel.

"You must learn to trust and care about people..."

What did He mean? He cared about people.

"Oh, Do you?" said a voice inside his head. "What about your family? Your home? Your friends? do you care about them? Oh, I forgot you don't have any..." His conscience was right. He didn't have anything. But then again, You can't have that sort of things when you're a traveler.

He kept on walking, aimlessly. After some time, He came across a ruined house. It had obviously been abandoned long ago, and the floor was covered in dust. There were signs of fire from long ago, and some plants had already claimed the windows and walls. It was Joe's house, or rather, the house that He used to live in.

Joe remembered very well the last time He had seen it. It was sixteen years ago.

That night, Joe's parents were having a party to celebrate his birthday. Many of his old friends were there, and there were also some friends of his father and mother. His father was a succesful merchant and knew many people. Around town, everybody thought that He held a great treasure somewhere in his house.

"Here you go, Joe!" said his Father. "The biggest birthday cake ever done! You must be proud!"

"Are you happy, Joe?" said his Mother. Joe remembered exactly what she was like, with her Red hair, and her Silver eyes.

But Joe couldn't answer. Suddenly, several thieves broke into the party, killing everyone. His mother took him upstairs, while his father stayed to fight them off. The last time Joe saw his father, He had been stabbed by the thieves.

Joe's mother ran to the balcony. Joe used to play there all the time, jumping to the next house from there.

"Joe, listen to me! Do you remember what I told you about your Uncle, who lives on the other side of the city? You must go there inmediatly, and give him this message. Listen to me, Joe!" He was crying.

"Jump from roof to roof until you get to the police station" She paused, as she was crying too. "This may be the last time I see you. You must be very brave, Joe. From now on, we'll watch from heaven".

But his mother couldn't finish. A thief entered the room, and grabbed her neck, turning her around.

"Where's the money, bitch? Tell me or I'll kill you!"

That was the last He remembered about His mother. When he alerted his uncle (who was the chief policeman) They returned inmediatly with many guards and soldiers, but it was too late. His house was already on fire. The Mercury Adepts put down the fire quickly, but inside they only found the bodies of everyone Joe knew. He was all alone.

Since then, He had been travelling all around Angara, and some of Gondowan. He trained hard, every day trying to increase his powers. He became so powerful that King Sirel (Raniel's father) nominated him the only Adept able to keep Djinn, a Djinn-Hunter. The youngest Djinn hunter in history. His task was to prevent that the enemies of the Kingdom of the Golden Valley used Djinn to attack them. But since Vale had no enemies, his only task was to find them and keep them, if he wanted. He had been doing that since then.

Joe sighed. Maybe King Raniel was right. He hadn't cared about anyone else since then. His only friend was the Road, and the only one He trusted was himself. No one else.

"But now you have friends" said that voice. "Max and Leng are your friends, even if you don't admit it".

"Max and Leng. They are my friends" He smiled.

"No time for that" He thought. " I must get ready for tomorrow".

He returned to the palace. His travel west would begin next day, and the world was still endangered, as the Elder ones were still out there.

But when he entered the Plaza, a scene that He remembered very well came into sight. It was the statue of Sol. The sun and the keys were still in his hands, and then Joe remembered.

Ten years ago, He had caught his first djinni right there. Flash had been hiding in the city's sewer system. He had followed him around those endless tunnels, until He finally cornered it. The djinni attacked with a Nova attack, which Joe could barely block.

"Flare Wall!" He cried. The djinni was hit by the attack, but it didn't seem to have taken any damage. Joe attacked with his sword, and found out that some sort of force field surrounded the creature. He made a plan quickly. Readying his sword, he began to focus.

"Fireball!" He cried. Several fire orbs appeared behind the Djinni, which was forced to move his shield to protect from them. Joe charged quickly, and hit it with his sword. He felt it pass through the djinni, but the sword was clean, and hot. Then He realized something very important about Djinni. They were the pure embodiment of the corresponding elemental. Mars Djinni were made of Mars Psynergy, and Flash proved it, as it began to spin and divided in several orbs, which entered Joe's body. When it was over, Joe saw that He had a bracelet, with a single ruby in it. It sparkled and glimmered in the darkness, as if to prove his worth. When He got out of the sewers, the first thing He saw was the statue of Sol, in the Grand Plaza.

He smiled again. Those Djinni had saved him several times. And then He remembered that the Demons were looking for them too. But why would the Demons want the pure embodiment of an elemental?

He didn't found an answer that night. He fell asleep, and the following morning, He had already forgotten about the question.


	10. Trouble in the Karagol

Chapter 9: Trouble in the Karagol

The next day, in the palace King Raniel, the three Djinn hunters set out for the Karagol. Although it was only a lake, the Karagol held many misteries, for example, it's salty water, and it's overall sea-like appearance. Not to mention the Island that didn't appear on any map, and that no one could find, Crossbone Isle. It was undoubtely the fastest way towards the Western civilizations, such as Anemos and Ankohl, and the passage to Magma Rock and Gondowan.

"Go, brave Djinn hunters. But remember that the enemy already knows about you three, and will hunt you down, wherever you are".

King Raniel smiled again. Instead of sending three warriors to fight against some impossible odds, he felt like sending three kids to see the world with their own eyes. And He knew that the dangers of the road were great. But He trusted them, even if He had met them for the first time.

"I hope that we meet again, Max. That joke about the priest and the sacrificial goat was hilarious."

Max nodded and smiled. He knew that the King considered him a friend. And He considered the King as a friend too.

"Leng, my dear friend and loyal messenger. Remember, those demons will hunt you down. This message is very important. King Shinryuu must receive it before the enemy makes it's move. Don't let anything get in your way".

Leng nodded. His mission was simple: Make Shinryuu remember the alliances of old, and come to the aid of Vale. The four lighthouses were important, but the Stone of Sages was .

"Joe, remember my advice. Although I'm no Jupiter Adept, the blood of the Dragon Clan runs in my veins. And it tells me that you three will need help. It doesn't matter how strong you are, you cannot fight this war alone".

Joe looked at the King with those calm eyes for a second, and then nodded. The wisdom of many ages was in King Raniel's blood.

"All that I can give you are these Shirts and these boots. These will greatly increase your speed". They put them on. They had the sun god, Sol, engraved in gold in their chest, surrounded by the four elementals, each engraved with a gem of the corresponding element' color: ruby for mars, sapphire for mercury, opal for venus, and topaz for Jupiter. Luna was woven exactly where the sun was, with ithildin threads. In daytime, Sol would appear with all his might, and in nightime, the faint light of Luna would light their way. It was truly a magnificent work. The boots were of different color each .

"Farewell, my friends. May the Golden Sun watch over you".

They left Vault at sunrise, and set out for the Vale River. It's current still held golden reflections, and it's waters were pure. There was no doubt that it began in the mountains around the Golden Sun, which nourished everything, including the four elementals. Turning south, they came across the second drawbridge that King Raniel had built, and turned East to the lake. They got there at the sixth hour since sunrise (which was undoubtedly a first for anyone), and the ferry had just arrived. The next one would leave half an hour later.

"There's nothing like the smell of the Karagol to lift your spirits, my friends" said Leng "I have to say that this day looks promising already. I hope that nothing goes wrong".

"And why would anything be wrong, Leng?" said Max, who was looking overboard.

"Well, the captain seems worried about something" He answered "And there were some sort of scars on the ships hull. I think that they ran into monsters".

"Monsters? Well, no problem. Max the Great is here to hunt down any monster that dares to come near the ship".

"And what would you do against this underwater monsters, Max?" said Joe. He was on the deck too, sharpening his sword with a black stone. Sometimes, he casted a fire orb and put his sword in it for some time, and then sharpening it again, as a portable forge.

"Well... Well what would YOU do, Joe?" Max said, grinning "These monsters are strong against fire, or so I've heard".

"Mars and Mercury are both strong and weak against each other". said Joe, calmly "It all depends on who attacks first".

"That's true, Max" said Leng "And let's not forget that these monsters may be possessed by Lower Demons".

"All right, All right". Said Max "I get it. But then again, what kind of monsters would attack ships and leave those marks"

There were bumps all along the right side of the hull, and some sort of black tint covered the ship's name "Purple Island". Also there were signs of teeth and claws under the floating line. Max called one of the sailors and asked him about it. The sailor looked around, and said, clearly horrified:

"These marks were done after some krakens and serpents attacked our ship. They were looking for some Really powerful warriors, it seems. The captain told them that there were no passengers with that descriptions, only the usual merchants and travellers. After that they left peacefully. I don't want to travel in that ship again, but I have to, It's the only job I'm good at, and my wife works selling tickets, so we're never that far away" He sobbed "What's the world coming to, when a man can't travel around the Karagol lake peacefully?"

"No problem, kid. We're the ones they've been looking for" said Max. The sailor looked at the three of them, smiling.

"You don't look very powerful. Thank you, but I hope the real warriors come soon". And with that he left.

"Don't we look powerful, Leng?" He asked, checking his armor and weapons.

"Only to those that can feel our power" said Joe. Leng nodded.

"He's right. That man couldn't feel our power". He paused thinking. "He doesn't look like it, but I think that He comes from the Shaman Tribe".

"Shaman tribe? I thought they were dead." said Max.

The legends spoke of the Shaman tribe as the people that did not accept the gift of the gods (Psynergy) when the Elder tribe appeared, and they didn't fought in those wars. The Shaman tribe were fierce physical warriors, who created many of the magical items of the world, such as the Bramble Seeds and the Weasel claws. They had not been forgotten by the people around them, though. A thousand years ago, some renegades from the Dragon Tribe invaded Shaman territory. The war, if war can it be called, was extremely short, resulting in half of their cities being destroyed. The Anemos hurried to their aid, and even if they defended the Shamans, they were feared, because they used the same power that the dragons, Psynergy. Since then, the Shaman tribe has only established relations with Ankohl. They pick up all kinds of metals and items that only exist in their lands, and sell them to Ankohl, which in turn makes equipment which sells to everybody.

"No, they aren't" said Leng "There's only one shaman town left in Hesperia, and it's location it's a secret. I hear that it's very difficult to find, even if you know where to look".

The ship was ready to sail. The captain was an old Jupiter Adept, so he controlled the winds to sail through the fastest and safest way around the Karagol.

An hour later they were sailing peacefully on the waters of the Karagol lake. The clear waters were rippling with large fishes, and the sun was high. It was another routine travel for the Purple Island, until the moment that they saw that all of the fishes had vanished. Suddenly, the waters grew dark, an instead of clear water, they felt like sailing in a giant lake of black ink. Suddenly, the sky grew dark as well, and the ship was the only thing visible, while all around it there was a complete darkness. And then the ship began to rock. Then they saw it. A giant Serpent, with the body as thick as the mast, and longer than the ship began to circle it. And there was also a giant kraken, the biggest one ever seen in the lake, with it's pink tentacles moving like snakes. But when all hope was lost, three warriors began to battle the creatures, amidst the most terrible storm that anyone could remember.

"Now, serpent, you'll see what we're made of!" cried Max "Stone Spire!" Several spires appeared out of nowhere and fell on the serpent. With a huge roar it was sliced in half. But then the tail closed its wounds and grew a head. The head grew a tail, and both attacked the ship. One of them attacked Leng with its tail, but his reflexes were enough to jump over it.

Meanwhile, Joe faced off against the Kraken. It's attacks seemed to come from everywhere, but Joe always parried or blocked where He had to. He stabbed one of the tentacles, and then He focused a fireball in his sword. The resulting explosion was enough to burn it away. But many more surrounded him. He knew that the longer the fight continued, the more damage the ship would take. And so He decided to take a risky decision.

"Liquifier!" Several bolts of fire shot out from his body. He had to focus or the attack wouldn't hit the Kraken, and it would burn the whole ship. The bolts were sent straight into the sky, and then back down, and entered the kraken's body. Burned from the inside, the creature fell overboard.

The second serpent lunged at Max. He had no problem ducking the attack, which hit the mast. Max looked at it for just a split second, wondering how would they sail without it, but that was enough time for the serpent to attack again. It's tail trapped him in a thight and deadly embrace. But when the serpent drew closer, a sudden flow of Venus psynergy formed a giant sword in the sky. The sword came down with incredible speed and cut the serpent's head from the rest of the body, which releasedd Max. He quickly smashed it with his Mace, the poison that came from it was enough to corrode the rest of the body.

But the first serpent was still alive, and fighting Leng. His powers were very dangerous to use in such a situation, as a simple tornado would destroy the ship, and a thunder would fry them alive, so he had to be careful. He parried several lunges, and ran towards starboard, forcing the creature to surround the ship entirely. When it's body was totally off the ship, he attacked.

"Spark Plasma!" He cried. Several flashes of lightning fell on the creature, destroying it completely.

But those weak monsters were the least of their worries. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared from under the lake. It wore a mythril crown, which hid part of his face, except the eyes that were a bright silver. Half of it's body was like a giant man, muscular and powerful, but from the waist down, it was like a fish's tail, with it's many reflections of blue and green.

It was Poseidon, Ruler of the Seas, and King of the Sea-dwellers tribe.

"Poseidon!" shouted Leng"Stop this! You must listen to me!"

"My orders are simple". He Answered. His voice was deep and loud "To destroy the three Djinn hunters. Die".

He pointed his trident at the ship. Suddenly, Giant bubbles began to crash against the ship's hull, severely damaging it. But Joe would not give up without a fight.

"Inferno!" He cried. Hundreds of fireballs formed and attacked the powerful King. The explosions were huge, but the mighty King of the Oceans appeared to have taken no damage.

"Pretentious human. You can't hurt me with that. Take this! Ocean Fist!" a giant tornado where Wind and Water seemed to join each other struck Joe. He tried to block it to no avail, and was sent flying towards the dark waters of the lake.

"Joe!" cried Neo.

But the assault didn't end there. Poseidon casted a giant wave against the ship, until finally it's hull gave in. It sunk with all of it's passengers, save for two, to the bottom of the Karagol lake.


	11. Concerning Werewolves

_(A/N): After a long wait, here it is. Episode 10. But first, let me check out the reviews._

_GoldenSunGeek: That's exactly why I'm writing it. There's so much room in this game for history and legends that I can't understand why aren't more people doing fics about this time period. BTW, you better update'The Son of Lemuria'. The game asseen from a character's POV, and his (or her) feelings, thoughts and emotions. Put some imagination into the mix, and you got yourself a fic that flows almost by itself._

_Master of Reality: Yes, Djinn are quite essential to the plot. And just for the records, I didn't say I had already finished the story. In fact, I don't even know how it's going to end. There's a good chance that it will need more than that._

_You are the only reviewers again. Does this fic sucks that badly?(sobs)_

_No, I'm just joking. If you are reading this, and still haven't reviewed, please do so. Remember, it won't get better until you tell me if I'm doing something wrong. Thank you._

Episode 10: Concerning Werewolves.

Max woke up to find himself in a clean, white beach, under a full moon with no clouds in sight. The sound of the waves hitting the sand was soothing enough, but He knew that He had to get up the beach. He dragged Leng (who was still unconscious) to a higher terrain. There, Leng woke up.

"What happened? Where are we? And where's Joe?" All of these questions were asked very quickly. Max looked at him, with sadness still visible in his face.

"Poseidon sank the ship" He said slowly "I picked you up from the waves and found a piece of the hull big enough for both of us. Then, when we were near the shore, I left it and swam here. I don't know exactly where are we, although the current was very strong for a lake. As for Joe... I don't know what happened to him. After Poseidon's attack, He fell off the ship. Haven't seen him since then".

Both were quiet, trying not to think about it, but He was probably dead.

"I feel sorry for the little guy" said Max "He was always so calm and cool. I hope he's all right..."

"He probably made it too". Said Leng "We should go look for him".

They looked everywhere on the vast bay. But the only thing they found was pieces of the ship. Leng then tried to use the map, but He realized that He lost it during the storm. The lake seemed weird, for a reason, but they didn't know why. It seemed larger and deeper.

"Well, we can't keep mourning here" said Max. He stood up high and proud over the shores of the Karagol Sea "He was a brave and powerful Adept, and a good friend. He'll be missed".

They saw that the mountains of the southern bordes were right in front of them. Max easily identified Kent's Peak, shining above all others, and covered in eternal snow. Kent's peak was actually in Gondowan, and near the Suhalla range.

"The First Gate to Gondowan is very near", said Leng. "If we get there, we could easily reach Ankohl, and from there, travel West towards Magma Rock".

"That would get us awfully close to the sea" answered Max. "But" He thought, "it could get us close to..."

"All right" He said, smiling "you're the one that knows everything about Vale. You keep walking and I'll follow you".

After travelling south for a while, they found the Gondowan gate. Leng once again showed his ranks, as the guards opened the gate without much questions, and they didn't even had to pay the usual toll. Two hours later they set up camp for the rest of the night. The following day, they reached one of the great obstacles in their path: the Suhalla desert. An arid wasteland, far as the eye can see. Luckily, the guards at the Gondowan Gate had given them enough water and supplies for days, as the ones that they had bought were in the ship's cargo.

"This is my home!" said Max "At last I see the beatiful Suhalla desert again!"

"While I can't say that I share your opinions on 'beauty' " replied Leng "I'm glad that we've made it here without encountering one the demons. After all, they are supposedly hunting for us".

Leng hadn't finished his sentence when they saw a giant tornado heading straight towards them. Inside it, they could vaguely see the form of the Tornado Lizards, which were quite powerful monsters, and the ones that created this huge sandstorm.

"We can't douse the tornadoes!" Screamed Max, trying to be heard over the wind. "We'll need to go around them! Come, I know a way!"

He guided Max through the desert, until they came upon a hill. From there, they dominated the view. Several tornadoes were moving all around the labyrinth of rocks that was the Suhalla Desert.

"What the...? What's that!" shouted Leng. Suddenly, a small cloud appeared on the horizon, dousing one of them. A pink one.

"That's the Storm Lizard! Only we could face such a creature!" Screamed Max.

"We must help them!" Answered Leng.

They surrounded the valley, jumping on rock formations to reach the Lizard. But when they got there they saw something that they didn't expected. A werewolf was fighting against the Storm Lizard. He had long black hair, tied up in a ponytail. His black eyes were fixed on the creature, as He ducked and rolled under it's swipes. He was rather short but well-built, and was wearing the usual clothes of his Tribe.

"Pah!" said Max "I say we let it kill him and good riddance".

"No, wait!" said Leng "There's something... different about him. The werewolves that I fought while travelling towards Serland were somehow... wilder. I'll Mind read him".

Leng raised his arm and began to glow. Usually, Jupiter Adepts were only allowed to read the minds of those that agreed, or of those that were on trial, and very few Jupiter Adepts were able to Read someone's Mind from afar. Leng was truly skilled in this particular ability.

"I knew it! He's not being controlled by the Demons! We have to help him!" He said.

"Okay, leave it to me" answered Max. "Here I come!" And He leapt against the Lizard. He was powerful enough to knock it down in a single hit. Leng jumped after him, and began to focus.

"Sonic Slash!" He cried. A shockwave of pure wind force struck the creature's neck, beheading it.

"Are you all right?" He said.

"Yeah" said the werewolf. "Thanks a lot. I got lost and..."

"More are coming!" shouted Max. Many tornadoes were all around them. "Damn, we cannot douse them!"

"But I can. Deluge!" cried the werewolf. Many clouds formed all above them, dousing several tornadoes at the same time. The Tornado Lizards had to stop the sandstorms, but then they attacked at the same time. Max jumped and hit one in the head, but it was only one, and they were all around them.

"Can you fight?" Leng asked. The werewolf nodded.

"Of course. Beware, they are strong".

"I'm stronger" said Leng, "Spark Plasma!" Several lightning bolts fell all around them, killing few of the beasts. Leng realized that the creatures were strong against Jupiter.

"I'll have to use my sword then!" He said, and reached for his necklace. "Come on, Zephyr!" He glowed purple for a split second and dissapeared from sight. His speed was so great now that only the slashes on the beasts gave away his location. Meanwhile, the werewolf attacked with his bare hands. His claws were like swords, and his psynergy skills were great for a werewolf.

"Eruption!" he cried. Several volcanoes appeared under the largest group of beasts. The lava was more than enough to burn them to mere ashes. But Max was the most dangerous to them. They were weak against his Venus Psynergy, and the poison from his Mace was more than enough to kill one of them. He charged against a large group, and smacked the closest one. He barely evaded the swipe of another one, and then He jumped over it and began to focus for one final attack.

"Grand Gaia!"

All around the remaining Lizards, the ground began to crumble, and many small bolts of Venus Psynergy appeared from underground. Then, suddenly, they grew until the Lizards were trapped inside a vast circle of pure Venus Psynergy that shot out from the ground, and then closed. There were no Tornado Lizards left.

"All right, now that we saved you, can you tell us who are you, and what are you doing here? Max asked angrily. The werewolf looked at him with a mix of fury and respect.

"My name is Bril. I'm the youngest son of Helios, our patriarch. Most of my people have been posessed by demons, as you may already know. That made them incredibly strong, although they suffered a great loss of Psynergy. Those that didn't join the army were forced to work in a giant tower to honor the Leader of the Demons. He calls himself a dark and forgotten God".

"My brother joined them and became one of the captains of the growing army. He came to Angara, to attack the Mercury lighthouse. News have arrived that they were defeated with the help of two "Djinn-Hunters", that were later joined by a third one, and those three defeated a demon named Eacus, the Crypt Lord. Now those 'Djinn-hunters' are being hunted by the demons. I came here to warn them of danger and to try and save my brother".

"We are two of the Djinn hunters that you are looking for, Bril". said Leng, and his face darkened "We believe the third one, our friend Joe, has drowned in the Karagol Sea".

"I'm sorry". Bril said. "I hope my brother Seth is all right... Now, with my father dead, He's the leader of our Tribe".

"Seth? You're Seth's brother?" asked Max.

"Yeah" he answered. "Have you met him? How's He doing?"

Max's gaze lowered. He remembered the werewolf captain that was guarding the underground passage towards Serland. They had killed him there. He was going crazy with his power, and would fight them to the dead. But how would He explain that to his little brother?

"Seth... He's... He's dead". He said quietly.

"What?" Bril shrieked, "That's not true! Who could kill my brother?"

"We did. Joe and Me. He had already lost control over his power. I'm sorry". said Max.

Bril's face darkened. But instead of attacking them, He stood up. Tears were running through his cheeks.

"Seth... He was a good brother" He said finally. "He was never really evil. But his greed and his hunger for power made him an easy target for the Demons. It's probably for the best. I'd hate to see my brother turned into some kind of monster. But now I'm all alone. There's nothing I can do".

"Yes, there is" said Leng. "You can fight back. Come with us. Help us defeat those Demons, and you will avenge your brother. Will you help us?".

"I..."

Bril's face showed a mix of many emotions, not the least of which was hatred. But that hatred was directed towards the Demons. They had forced his people to work as slaves. They had destroyed his brother's mind, making him a mindless monster. And now, finally, they had killed his old and wise father, only for being too old to work. He looked at Leng and nodded. The Demons had gained a new enemy.


	12. The Stronghold

_Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun, anything related to it, except this characters. And some stuff. Like my Gba. I think._

Episode 11: The Stronghold

When Max, Leng and their new friend, Bril, reached the Lands beyond the Suhalla Desert, they turned west, to follow along the coastal line towards Magma Rock.

"Come on, guys!" said Max, now back in his usual smile "Let's go! We must reach Magma Rock".

But soon they would realize that they were not alone.

As they left the valley of the Suhalla Desert they came upon a strange rock formation, or sculpture. There was nothing special about it, save for the fact that it represented something like they had never seen before. A strange beast, which seemed like a Storm Lizard, but it also had three heads like a Chimera, and the tail of a Manticore. It was huge and repulsive, even for a statue, and even more for what it suggested, because it had been carved with many details, _as if taken from the very beast._ And it exuded a repulsive and horrid smell.

"I have never seen this... thing... before" said Max. He had taken a handkerchief to his nose. The others did the same.

"It doesn't fell right..." said Leng. And He was right. The creature was had a wierd grin on each of it's three heads. They were looking down at them as if it were to turn alive any moment.

"Let's get out of here..." said Bril. He was looking very carefully at the statue. He was a werewolf, and his instincts told him that this... 'thing'... was dangerous. Very dangerous. He saw something that shouldn't have been there. A faint light coming out of the beast's rightmost eye.

"Watch out!" He cried, leaping backwards. The others did the same, and then, the red color of the stone statue began to turn into a deep purple, while it's heads were turning a very deep red, and it's scorpion tail became a dark brown. The creature moved forwards heavily, each step made a great, round crater where the foot fell. Suddenly, it stopped moving, and spoke with a screeching and irritating voice.

"You are not welcome beyond this point" It grinned "I never expected to see you in this place. I thought you were all dead after Poseidon's 'mission'. Oh, But I see you have lost one of your precious djinn-hunters! Guess that fool was useful for a change".

"Who are you?" said Bril "Are you one of those Demons!"

"Of course I am, little werewolf. I am Krinzer. As you can see, this body is a mixture of three powerful monsters. I killed all three of them, and then I added their strengths to my own. And after I kill you" He added "Your bodies and souls will become part of me!".

"I don't think so" replied Max "I have already figured out your weakness, stupid creature".

"The bodies of the creatures that you killed" said Leng "are still weak to some kind of psynergy".

"Yeah" said Max, "The manticore's tail is weak against water, and the chimera heads too, which leaves me free to take on the Storm Lizard's body".

Krinzer took a step back, surprised. How had they realized that so quickly? That was his first mistake.

"Hah! It's true!" said Max, laughing. "I didn't know Demons were this stupid!"

"What?" shouted Krinzer.

"How did you know that?" said Bril, surprised.

"We didn't" said Leng, smiling. "But we thought that if we acted like we did, His reaction would prove it".

"And how did you know what Max was thinking?" he asked again.

"I mind read him. He was so close that I didn't even had to concentrate". Finished Leng.

"How dare you! You little Whelps! I'm gonna Kill you now!" Krinzer was extremely furious now, and He charged without thinking. That was his second mistake.

They simply jumped out of his way, and He hit the solid wall rock head on, and fell heavily. Several Rocks falled on top of him.

Bril ran towards his tail, which was able to move on it's own. It lunged at him several times, but he was too fast for it. And when He was near, He concentrated al of his might in a single slash with his claws, which cut it off cleanly.

"One down, two more to go!"

But Krinzer was not defeated yet. It stood up slowly, and began to concentrate his energy on a single, devastating attack. The three heads aimed at them and a red glow began to form around him.

"What do we do?" asked Bril "We can't launch an attack more powerful than that!".

"We avoid it" answered Max, smiling "Well, you avoid it. I got a plan".

"Are you going to unleash Mold again?" asked Leng.

"No. I will shield you. Bril, you cast your most powerful Mercury Psynergy against the heads. That will weaken them enough for Leng to cut. Then I, your fearless and powerful leader, slay the Lizard's body". He paused, while He took a Topaz from his bracelet.

"Now!"

Krinzer released an incredibly powerful Beam, made of concentrated Fire, but Max had already unleashed one of his Djinn.

"Granite!" He said. The Djinn created a yellow barrier in front of them. Leng and Bril jumped to one of the nearby hills and ran towards the Demon. When they were near enough, Bril stopped and concentrated The remaining Psynergy in his body. He made a sign and several Shards of ice began to form above them. "A glacier Spell" Leng thought. But soon He realized that He was wrong.

"Ice Missile!" The shards suddenly changed form. Instead of round or triangular, they became pointy. And Sharp. They hovered for a second, and then assaulted the three heads of the Demon, which roared and leaned back. Leng waited until the last Missile had penetrated the skin, and, unleashing his trusty Zephyr, jumped and beheaded the three of them with a single slash.

The Demon roared again, and it's hand moved up his neck. Suddenly, it began to pull at it's heads, ripping them from it's torso. The head of a Storm LIzard was there, soaked in blood, and looking terribly hurt, although still furious.

"You will pay for this, you little..."

But then several spires began to rain down on the creature. With the hardened rocks tearing away at it's skin, it wasn't long before the Demon was completely destroyed.

"I'll show you, Adepts! I'll return! And I'll be waiting for you!"

And with a final shriek of that horrible screeching voice, Krinzer was banished from Weyard. But it left behind something they had never seen before. A twisted black cube. It held large amounts of evil power, and seemed to take the light away from wherever it was. Max grabbed it and put it in his bag.

"What are you doing?" said Bril "That's part of the Demon's soul!"

"I know" He answered "Maybe someone can study it and give us some clue on how to defeat them".

That afternoon, after defeating the Demon, they saw a building near the beach. It was a tower covered in dark clouds. A strange red glow seemed to radiate from every single window in it. Leng smiled.

"This, my friends is the Hephaestus's stronghold. " He said "More than a stronghold, the tower is like a giant forge. Every single room in it is filled with orichalcum and mythril, but the lower levels are designed like an Inn, and many people travel great distances just to see this tower, and they could pay a fortune just for a glance at the forging process. We shall rest here tonight".

"Cool" said Max "I could use some sleep".

"Do you think they could let us see the forging process? " asked Bril. His black eyes were focused on the tower.

"No, i don't think so" Leng answered. "Besides, we're here to rest and re-stock before setting out again".

"Aww, come on" He replied, "just a little glance, please?" And he knelt before Leng. Max joined him.

"PLEASE?"

"Oh, all right" Leng said "I will try to convince one of them, but don't expect anything".

The Hephaestus's Stronghold was a remarkable construction. All around it were bazaars and tents. They belonged to people that had come to the tower, either to make a living, or to buy a special magical piece of equipment, or even adventurers that just stopped along the way.

From the moment they entered the tower, they noticed that there were several columns all around the great hall. They were thick and ocasionally, they glowed red. But when they entered one of the restaurants inside it they noticed that everyone turned around to look at them, and all conversation ended. The people that sold items suddenly stopped shouting their magical properties, and those auctioning the most powerful ones suddenly fell quiet. Two powerful yet somewhat young Adepts and a young werewolf. Leng could feel their eyes beaming on them as they picked one of the tables. Soon, the conversation returned, although in hushed voices and whispers.

"It's because of me" said Bril, sadly "I can hear them. They're saying: What's that? Who is He?... Do you think they could throw us out of here?"

"They'll have to get through my big, dead a..."

"Max!" Leng hissed " We can't fight, let alone kill, anyone. ANYONE, do you understand? We're on a mission for King Raniel, remember?"

"Yeah" Max said "Sorry about that".

Suddenly, one of the waitress came up to them, and gave them the menu. She glanced at Bril curiously.

"Can I get you something?"

"I'll have roasted chicken" said Leng.

"Me, too" said Max "Two orders for me please"

"I'll have salad, thank you". said Bril. The waitress looked at him confused, and then leaned closed to them.

"You don't have to worry, little guy. It's him (and she pointed at Max) which has caught our attention".

"Me?" Max replied. Bril's eyes suddenly noticed the bag.

"Look!"

It was stained with some sort of dark ink. Max checked inside, and found out that the darkness came from the Dark Cube. It had been extending to everything inside the bag, like some sort of goo. When Max lifted the cube, the darkness seemed to return to it, and everything inside the bag returned to their original coloration.

"What the hell is that?" said the waitress, seemingly very shocked.

"It's just something that we picked up during our travels" said Leng.

"It's...resonating with power..." she said.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you know where you are?" She said, angrily.

"Well, we're on the Hephaestus's Stonghold, that guards the West borders of the Ankhol Republic..."

"Exactly! We Ankhol can feel the energy in anything. Be it ore, gems, or even the innards of a monster, we can tell it's magical properties with just one glance at it".

"And this... this cube is resonating with magical powers?" asked Bril, shyly.

"Exactly. They'll come and they'll want to forge it into something". She paused. "Hell, I want to forge it into something. Maybe a sword..."

"And who's the best in this 'craft' of forging items around here?" said Max. He already had a plan.

"The best around here is Sorun. He's been living here since before I was born" she said. "It's that guy over there".

Their gaze followed their finger to find an old and almost bald man. He was lying on the floor, drunk. His stomach was much bigger than it should, and He was missing three of his front teeth. His unshaved face seemed devoid of any earthly feeling.

"You're kidding me, right?" said Max.

"I kid you not. In fact, you might want to hurry. He works better when drunk".

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go on. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with".

"Excuse me, Master Sorun?" said Max.

"Unnnhh..."

Max frowned. This was better not a joke or...

"Master Sorun?" said Leng "I'll read his mind".

Leng raised his hand and touched the old man's head. He glowed purple for a second. Then, He blushed and removed the hand inmediatly.

"What did you saw?" asked Bril.

"I dare not tell you..." He answered.

"Uuunnnhh, w-what..." Said the old man, moving to one side.

"He's waking up!" said Max "Master Sorun, please, could you forge something out of this?" and He held the Cube near the old man's nose. Suddenly, his nose moved, as if smelling the Cube, and he opened his eyes.

"W-what... Watcsh zis' cube zingy?"

"That's right, it's a cube. Can you forge something out of it?" asked Max.

"Y-y-eah, I.. I guesh s-so"

"Then do it, you old stupid..., er" Max realized that everyone was looking at him. "I mean, old and wise master".

"A-all righty then!" said Sorun, standing up. He was very short.

"To the forge!" He said. But as soon as He took a step He fell face-first into the floor.

"Come on, I'll lift you up" said Max. He took the old man from the floor and carried him to a room in the third floor. Sorun took a key from his pocket and whispered something to it. The door opened, and Sorun hid his key again.

"That way no one else can open it" said Leng, "quite clever".

They walked through a short corridor and found themselves on a room barely large enough for the four of them. The walls were filled with swords, shields and other pieces of armor. They were all sparkling and shining, as if forged from stardust or Mythril. Bril suspected that they were actually made of those hard to find materials.

"Come on, now" said Sorun. He seemed a little more awake "This is very in...in..."

"Interesting?" said Leng.

"Yes! yes, interesting. It's very interesting" He frowned "What will it be, traveler? I can only forge one piece of equipment with this cube, so choose carefully".

"Er..." said Max. He hadn't thought about it. What would he want? A sword? No, his mace was superb. A helmet? No, He didn't wear helmets.

"A shield!" He said.

"A shield, hmm?" said Sorun "Good choice. I'm glad you chose me to forge this shield".

"Master Sorun?" said Bril "I would like to ask a favor of you, please?"

"A favor? And what d-do you wish to ashk of me, young lad?"

"Can we stay here while you forge it?" He answered. Sorun frowned for a moment. But just when Bril thought that his petition would be denied, the old man smiled.

"You seem trustworthy. I will let you see the secret handled down for generations amongst our people..."

"Really?" said Bril "Awesome!"

"Just stay over there, and don't move." said Sorun. They all obeyed.

The old man walked over to a wall and pulled a lever. The wall moved slowly, to reveal...

"It's a monster!" cried Bril.

"No!" said Sorun "It's not a monster. This is my assistant. Neyla. Come on sweetie, say hi" The monster roared.

"That's good! You're a good girl" Sorun said.

"Wait" said Max "You forge the items with the help of this monst...I mean, pet?"

"Yeah," said Sorun "is there a problem with that?"

"No, not at all" They said.

"Neyla is an Avimander. They usually live deep underground, in the foundations of Weyard. Nobody knows what's it like there, although they are Mars Aligned creatures, so most of us suppose that there is lava down there. This one sage had this crazy theory about lava being the center of the world, and that the volcanoes erupted because the pressure down there was enormous, and that Weyard would explode if they didn't. Then again, He always kept saying that the world was round. Stupid, crazy guy, if you ask me".

"And exactly how does 'Neyla' assists you, Master Sorun?" asked Bril.

"Oh you'll see. Here, Neyla. do your thing".

The creature nodded and opened it's mouth. It breathed fire into the Cube, which kept on changing shapes and colours, going from dark to yellow, and then to red. Then blue and finally purple. Neyla stopped the fire breathing, and Sorun used some pincers to take the now flat, purple goo. He put it in a pedestal and used a hammer to mold it into a large shield. They saw that with every hit, Sorun casted some Psynergy into the goo, which was changing colors again, and settled on a very dark purple. When the shield was finished, He throwed it in a small hole in the corner. They noticed that it made no sound, as if it had not reached the bottom yet.

"Uhh, Where is it?" said Max.

"I throwed it down that hole" said Sorun. Max frowned.

"I meant, where does that hole goes? What happened to my shield?".

"Oh, right. This hole" And Sorun signaled at Neyla "was made by her, when She was still a baby. It goes right to the bottom of the world".

"What?" said Max. Leng grabbed his left hand, while Bril grabbed his right.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT! You stupid, old..."

But then, a bright red light came from the little hole. There was a sudden flash, and it ended. The Shield floated on the room. A dark aura emanated from it, and someone (or something) had carved some runes into it's now dark, metal-like surface.

"Ack!" said Sorun "This shield is cursed. You cannot use it, or the creature that you slayed to get that cube will posess you".

"Don't worry" said Max "I got exactly what I need". And He reached for the shield. When He grabbed it, it glowed ominously for a split second, and the Cleric's Ring sparkled blue again. The Shield returned to it's original appearance.

"How? You should have been possesed by this evil presence!" said Sorun.

"This ring protects me from the curse" He answered, grinning. "So, what's so special about this shield?"

"What's so special?" said Sorun "That's the most powerful shield that I've ever made. Not only does it protects you, it actually makes you stronger!"

"If you say so..." Max said.

"It does!" Sorun said "Go and show it to everyone down there. They'll tell you the same thing as I did".

When Max returned to the main part of the tower, everyone hurried in to take a glance at the shield. Many people tried to buy it from him, until He finally said that the shield was cursed and that He was the only one able to wield it. Then they returned to their usual places.

"Hey traveler!" said one of the merchants.

"I told you, it's cursed..." Max said, but the Man showed him a two-handed sword.

"This is for him" He said, pointing at Leng.

"It's...for me?" He asked.

"Yes, it's for you, Leng" He said "I'm a Jupiter Adept too. I saw everything in your mind".

"You know that's not allowed" said Leng, but the man just shrugged.

"Just take it. It's name is: The Swift Sword!"

"That's a really dumb name" said Max.

"Just use it out there" He said "You'll know what to do"

"And for you, little guy" He said to Bril, "Magical Gloves. They'll greatly add to your psynergy".

"Thanks" Bril said. "But why are you helping us?"

"I know who you are" He answered quietly "And I know what hunts you. The Demons will send stronger assassins. Those that you have fought are nothing. You will need all the help that you can".

"How do you know that?" asked Max. The merchant grinned again.

"Let's just say, I'm a friend. Now go and rest, Djinn hunters. You will reach Kibombo in less than a day if you follow the road. And may the blessing of the gods be with you".

They left the tower the following day. Not only were they sure that they had better equipment. Now they knew that they were being helped by somebody out there. They didn't stop until they saw the great Magma Rock in the distance.

_(A/N): Just a couple of things. The Hephaestus's Stronghold is NOT, the Ankohl tower from the game. If you look at any map, you'll see that it's further to the east._

_Also, I'm taking the psynergies for the different tribes from different classes in the game._

_Dragon Tribe - Isaac as a lv. 44 Dragoon (duh)_

_Werewolves - Sheba as a lv. 44 Warlock_

_Werebears - Isaac as a lv. 44 Paladin_

_Sea-dwellers(merman, gillman and others) - Mia as a lv. 43 Dark Mage._

_If you think that they don't fit leave some suggestions in a review. That's it for now. See you next time._


	13. Mercury's Daughter

Disclaimer: I do not (I repeat DO NOT) own Golden Sun, ar anything else related to the game. However, this characters are mine, my own, my...

_Err... Sorry about that. Moving on._

_When you learn another language, or about a different culture, there are some things that will not appear in any book, or class, things that no teacher can explain. One of these things is that stuff when you (and I mean you as in the fanfic writer community) write using numbers and letters For example:_

_Someone: **am teh winnzorz!1111shifty111**_

_WTF?or that 'lol' stuff. If anyone tells me what does that means, I'll be grateful forever._

_Yesterday I was looking through the older stuff. And then I saw it. The OFUW._

_Even though I fell off my chair laughing (I actually did. This stupid chair is broken), I learned something. My fourth party member (which, as you may have already guessed, appears in this episode) was a complete and total Mary-Sue!_

_I had to go and rewrite the whole thing. I'm still not sure about it. But, of course, if she IS a Mary-Sue, then hopefully someone will review, explaining why she's one. Right? right?_

_Well, anyway, Here it is. Chapter 12. Enjoy._

Episode 12: Mercury's daughter.

"Ocean Fist!"

"Joe!"

His memories were still sending flashes of that night. After that there was darkness. He couldn't tell how much time had happened, or what happened to the others after Poseidon's attack. All He knew was that He was alive and unscathed. But where?

"Where am I?" He asked.

"You're in the village of Cirphel, young man". Answered a voice.

Joe opened his eyes. He was in a bed made of fragant herbs and surrounded by some people. They were clearly fishermen, as they were tanned and well-built.

"What happened to the others?" He asked again.

"There were no others. We only found you. And I believe you should be thankful for that". The priest of the town began to cast some healing psynergy. Joe felt a little better, but when He tried to stand, a terrible pain in his forehead made him realize that He was still quite badly injured.

"You were lucky to survive" said the priest again " That has been the worst storm that has ever hit the lake. In fact, it's not a lake anymore".

"What?" Joe asked. The Karagol was not a lake?

"We all saw it. Poseidon used his incredible powers and flooded the plains to the southeast, and to the northwest. Now we live in the shores of the Karagol Sea.

"What do you mean with "I was lucky to survive?" He asked.

"You were seen floating on a piece of the mast". The priest's face darkened " The ship and the rest of the passengers are probably now in the bottom of the Sea".

"I see" said Joe, quietly. He thought about Max and Leng, his only friends. He thought about the quest that He had to finish, and about the attack of Poseidon. He had to finish the quest, if only for the memory of his friends, but something was bothering him. How did Poseidon knew that they would be travelling in that ship? Who knew that they would travel to the western lands through the Karagol? Who would become a spy in the middle of the city of Vault?.

"By the way, you've been here for three nights and two days. A healthy young man like you should be able to walk this afternoon. If you want, we can give you some food, so you can make your way to the next town".

"No, thank you" said Joe, standing up quickly "I'll leave now. I feel a lot better".

"What? How can you stand up like that? You were almost dead when we brought you here!" But Joe was already leaving the little room. It seemed like He was in an Inn, which was right in the beach, and looking towards the Sea. The warm breeze of the day invigorated him. He went back inside.

"Where's my stuff?" he asked. the innkeeper gave him a little bag. All that they had found was his sword, the bag in which he kept his gold and the sapphire bottle.

"That's everything we found" they said. Joe smiled at them.

"That's all I have".

The fisherman town of Cirphel was on the western borders of the Karagol lake (now sea). The closest city was Nelaph, which lay in a crossroad. To the north was the town of Salis and it's natural wonder, the Altmiller Maze. To the south, the towns of Mikal, Little Mikal and Sufores. Finally, to the west, the city of Sesmos, (known for it's earthquakes) and the Crossing to Hesperia. Joe set out that night. He had to get to Nelaph the following day, and he had already lost too much time unconscious.

That night, when He was halfway there, He decided to camp for a couple of hours. He had barely put out the fire, when He heard a noise in the nearby bushes. He quickly drew his sword. Maybe an enemy? No, it would have launched a surprise attack. He decided to take the first step.

"Flare!" he said. The bushes dissapeared in a column of fire, and just behind them, the creature that was making the noises. A djinni! A mars djinni, with a little red necklace. It read in golden letters: _CORE_.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

For all answer the djinni tried to use it's little legs to take the necklace off. Joe cut it with his sword. The djinni seemed delighted with that gesture. It inmediatly began to spin and turned into several fire orbs. After rising to the sky, they entered Joe's body, and a sixth ruby appeared in his bracelet.

Joe decided to test his newly found Djinni as soon as He could. Djinni are usually difficult to find, often hiding in deep caves or in far away forests. Joe thought that it was strange that a Djinni would find him AND join him that easily. Somebody must have kept him as a pet. But there was no time for that, he thought, and He continued his travel towards Nelaph.

The city of Nelaph was one of the most advanced in the western region of Vale, culturally speaking. There were libraries and schools everywhere. The people of Nelaph were well spoken and wise, but they were not powerful. The influence of Venus Lighthouse was strong enough to make most of them choose to be Venus Adepts. Joe entered through the Eastern gate, only to find the people running away from the plaza. What was happening there, Joe didn't know, but clearly, He was the only one that could stop it. He ran.

But when Joe reached the plaza, He saw that someone was already fighting against a huge monster. A blue-haired girl, with clear eyes. She was wearing blue robes, which were already full of mud and dirt, with white ornaments and white sleeves. She didn't seem from Nelaph, though, as Joe felt that her powers were quite strong. She was fighting against a giant bear. But this was not a normal bear, though. It was slightly blue, it could cast simple Venus psynergy, and more importantly, regenerated extremely quickly. Joe knew that it was a were-bear from Izumo, but He had wild eyes and was clearly being mind-controlled.

"Stay away!" She said "I'm the only one that can fight against this creature!".

Joe grinned. Usually it was him who said that.

The girl jumped ducked under one of the bear swipes, which destroyed a nearby house. While it looked for her, she quickly ran behind it and created many ice shards. Joe inmediatly recognized the attack.

"Glacier!" she cried. The shards began to form a mountain around the beast, which was trapped inside the ice. She smiled. Then she looked at Joe, and the smile vanished.

"Why didn't you ran away with the others? Don't you understand how powerful this creature is?"

"I didn't knew that a were-bear was on the loose. By the way, you are not finished yet" He said pointing at the were-bear. The ice around it was cracking, and soon it was free again. It raised it's arms towards them and roared, but Joe realized it's intentions just in time.

"Jump!" He said to the girl. She leapt to the right, while Joe jumped forward. Where they had been standing, there was now a crack in the floor, and a current of golden Venus psynergy was emerging from it.

"Gaia.." He thought as He charged against the creature. It swiped at him, but He jumped over the attack, and while still on the air, He spun to evade another swipe. He focused his Psynergy in his sword, and Slashed the creaure's chest with the flaming sword. It roared and fell backwards, destroying more houses.

"Who are you?" said the girl "How could you do that?" Joe simply showed her his bracelet full of Djinni.

"Oh, I see" She said. "Another Djinn hunter. But where do you come from?"

"We can discuss that later" He replied. "It is not dead yet" The bear stood up again, it's eyes glowing with incontrollable fury.

"How come it's still not death?" He asked her.

"It's sort of my fault, really" She said giggling "I was eating at the Inn, and I put my staff in the table. That's where I keep my djinn. And then He came out of nowhere and ate one of my Djinn! My dear Spritz must be frightened and all alone in that creature's belly"

"Well" Joe thought " That explains the blue color".

"Spritz has the power to heal the wounded in battle" She said, still smiling "That's why He regenerates"

The bear attacked again, swiping low. They jumped over it and attacked. She jumped and smacked it in the Head with her staff, while Joe cut it's neck. It let out a loud roar, and fell. Blood began to flow under it, but it soon stopped and began to enter it's neck again, and the wound healed and closed. Soon, there was no trace of it.

"There must be some way to attack from the inside" Joe thought, and then He remembered, his latest Djinni's name.

He took the sixth Ruby in his bracelet.

"Attack, Core!" He cried. With a sudden flash, the djinni appeared above them, surrounded by a red aura. He launched himself against the werebear, entering it's body slowly, while the creature roared in pain. Then a powerful explosion completely blew up the bear's stomach. Among the entrails of the finally dead creature, a single blue sapphire appeared. It was the missing Djinni, Spritz.

"Spritz!" cried the girl, "I'm so sorry! I'll never lt anyone eat you again, I promise..."

Later that afternoon, Joe and the Djinn hunter were eating at the city's Inn. Joe noticed the the girl was sweet and kind, but she was also a little clumsy and Joe could notice, she liked the sound of her own voice.

"So you're Joe, the Mars Djinn hunter" She said very quickly "I'm Lise. Pleased to meet you. I have to say that you're the reason that I took this job".

Joe smiled and asked her about the situation here, but She didn't know anything about the werewolves or the Demons.

"I've just arrived from Prox. That's where I found my latest Djinni, Fog. But, how did they return?"

Joe explained everything to her. When He finished, it was already night. He had to leave, but she asked him to stay in the city.

"What if we need your help here?" She said "Please rest and stay at least this night".

"I can't stay here" said Joe "I must have contacted the Anemos before next week. I must reach Magma Rock the day after tomorrow".

"That's a real shame" She said "Well, glad to meet you, Joe. I hope our paths meet again someday".

"Maybe" he answered "But it won't be anywhere near this city". And with that He left.

Before midnight, Joe had already reached Mikal. And before dawn, Little Mikal was behind him. His shirt and shoes were very useful on such situations, but He knew that He had to travel as fast as He could. The demons were already on their way towards the Venus Lighthouse. And He hadn't realized that He was being followed.

But before reaching Sufores, Joe saw it. A great box, right in the middle of the road. A treasure chest. Joe grinned. One of those stupid Mimics. Who would leave a treasure in the middle of the road?

But this was not just another Mimic, as it attacked even before Joe tried to open it. It suddenly grew legs and little crab-like arms. It seemed furious.

Suddenly, the Mimic charged against Joe, who had no trouble evading it. Then the creature let out a fiery breath, which Joe countered with a fire wall. Then Joe decided to attack. He ran quickly to one side while casting several Fire Beams, which the creaure evaded barely. But then, Joe suddenly changed direction and ran directly towards it. It didn't expected it, and Joe slashed horizontally, slicing it in half.

But when Joe thought the fight was over, A sudden laugh was heard. Then, a deep voice spoke, but the sound came from nowhere.

"Hah hah hah, The great Joe. The Djinn hunter. I expected no less from you, who have so gallantly defeated Eacus".

"Show yourself!" Joe replied.

"I'm right here, Joe! Hahaha!"

Joe looked in the direction of the Mimic and saw that it was a Mimic no more. Instead, there was some sort of Gelatinous substance, a dark-blue goo, that was taking a human form.

It had white long hair, which covered his eyes. The body was muscular, although very pale, and a maniacal smile could be seen in it's lips. It raised it's face to look at Joe directly, and He saw that it had red eyes, just like his. But soon it wasn't just the eyes. It's hair began to turn red, and the pale color of it's skin was replaced by Joe's. Then, more of the substance became armor, and yet another became a sword. Joe stood against a creature that had taken his shape.

"What do you think?" It said, imitating Joe's voice. "Impressive, huh? I can feel that you're very powerful and strong, as well as agile". It grinned.

"Who are you?" asked Joe. The creature touched it's right cheek. Joe did the same, and felt a slight wound.

"I am the Demon Morphos. When I touched you, I copied all of your abilities". It grinned again "I suggest you don't unleash any of your djinni in this fight. You might be... overpowered, if you did that".

Then it drew it's sword, and charged. Joe barely had time to draw his own sword, and blocked. As He stared into the demon's eyes, it winked and it's sword became a roaring fire. Joe did the same, But He noticed that the demon's fire was dark. He leapt backwards, and the demon did the same.

"He's myself" Joe thought "He's as strong and fast as I am. But He's still a Demon".

"Inferno!" He cried. Several Fire orbs formed around him, and attacked the Demon. It grinned, and lowered his sword.

"Inferno" He said. But the orbs that appeared around him were dark. They shot out against Joe's own Inferno attack, exploding on the air.

Amidst all of the smoke and fire, Joe saw his own figure running towards him. He charged against it too. Between the exploding fireballs, Joe dueled against himself.

He attacked vertically, but the Demon blocked with his Shadow sword. It countered with a punch, but Joe grabbed it and throwed him aside, jumping after him. But when Joe tried to stab it in the ground, the demon rolled to one side, and kicked him in the stomach. Then it stood up and attacked again. Joe blocked the hit, and ducked under a second slash. While ducking, He slashed horizontally, and the Demon jumped over him. It charged, but Joe evaded, moving to the left. The Demon then tried to stab him, but Joe parried the attack and countered. The Demon leapt backwards and landed a few yards away.

"Very good!" He said. "Very good indeed. But if we keep this up, we will never finish". Suddenly, a current of the Demon's evil energy entered the sword. The shadow grew and became a huge sword, but it somehow still grabbed it with one hand.

"And now..."He said calmly "you must die..."

He swung the sword in a great arc. Joe tried to block it, but his sword couldn't resist. His trusty sword was broken in several pieces, and Joe fell on the ground.

"What will you do now, Joe?" said the Demon. It raised its giantic sword. Joe had one but one option: To unleash his djinn. It was very dangerous, as He would lose strength, speed, and, more importantly, Psynergetic power. The Demon bringed his sword down quickly, and Joe had no choice.

"Flash!"

A red wall appeared above him, blocking the sword. And in the split second that Morphos blinked in surprise, Joe unleashed another Djinn.

"Core!" The Djinni appeared and charged towards the demon, who evaded it. The djinn however, kept on attacking, while Morphos parried and evaded.

"Forge!" Joe felt a sudden, warm flow of energy surround him. And he charged towards the Demon. whose attention was fixed on Core. The djinni decided to attack it's sword, and began to penetrate it's blade. The dark fire receded slowly, and while Morphos looked at it, the sword became the dark, gelatinous substance again. It fell on the ground and dissapeared.

Then Joe attacked from behind. He knew that only one spell could give him enough time to summon the dragon queen, Tiamat.

"Serpent Fume!" He cried. The fire serpent shot out of his body and attacked the Demon, taking him by surprise. Joe wasted no time, and raised his arms.

_"I summon thee, queen of the dragons and empress of the flames! Burn my enemy to ashes! Tiamat!"_

A giant column of fire shot out of the sky, and the queen of the Dragons, Tiamat, descended in it. It looked at the demon, who was horrified now, and released her Fire Breath, burning everything in a straight line for several miles. The dragon dissapeared in a red light, not without looking at Joe for a second, and nodding.

But Morphos wasn't dead yet. While his true form (a dark blue, shapeless goo) had almost dissapeared, A little of it still formed Joe's head, and was glaring at him with a rage that only a banished demon could have.

"Curse you, Joe!" He said "While I may have temporally dissapeared from this realm, I will return! My Lord will defeat you Adepts, and the power of the Gods will be ours! Do you think I'm done for? I can still take you with me! Dark Bl..."

Bu Morphos couldn't finish. It's head suddenly became a block of ice.

"Hah, Joe still has friends, silly!"

"What the..." He said.

It was Lise. She came out from behind a nearby tree, and walked to the Demon's head, only to crush it under her feet.

"Wow!" She said "I can't believe you defeated one of those Demons all by yourself!"

"I didn't" He answered wryly "You saved my life".

She seemed delighted "I saved the legendary Joe's life!"

"Well... What are you doing here anyway?" He asked.

"Why, I decided to join your quest! Now, we will be pals forever! Can you imagine that? We'd be legendary heroes like no other!"

But when she turned to see Joe, she found that He was no longer there. Instead, his faint figure could be seen walking away, and towards Magma Rock.

"What are you doing still back there!" He shouted "We must reach Magma Rock tomorrow!"

She ran after him. She didn't know what kind of adventures or dangers they would face, but it didn't matter. The only thing she knew , was that she was travelling with the Legendary Djinn-hunter, Joe.


	14. Magma Rock

_Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun, and I'm in no way being payed to say this. looks at briefcase full of money Er... you didn't saw that._

Episode 13: Magma Rock

Joe had been travelling for two days now. He knew that his destination lay just over that last cliff. He climbed it, going higher and higher with each step. Until, finally, down there on the valley, was...

"Dragon's Den!" said Lise. She climbed a little higher to see better, but instead she tripped, and rolled all the way down to the city's gates, where Joe was already talking with one of the guards.

"Your name, please" He said. Lise quickly stood up.

"My name is Lise" She said, "and I'm a djinn hunter, sir"

"I see" said the guard, un-impressed. "So, you're the famous djinn hunters. May I ask what brings you here?"

"We're here to see King Shinryu on behalf of King Raniel of Vale" said Joe "And also, I'd like to buy a new sword".

"A new sword, uh?" said the guard "Well, I recommend buying one from the shops closest to the palace" He motioned to another guard, who gave the signal to open the gate. "Those bastards down there will sell you iron at mythril price if you let them".

Then, another guard gave him some sort of chalkboard. The guard wrote something in it. Lise noticed that the letters dissapeared as soon as He wrote them. Seconds later, the letters reappeared, although the handwriting was different.

"Let's see, Joe and Lise. Djinn hunters. King Shinryu will see you first thing tomorrow. You must go to the palace at sunrise. Better be careful, you two".

The giant gates opened. What they saw was truly amazing. There were fires practically everywhere. On top of the houses, on the walls... and they made a good job to lit the city. Lise hadn't noticed that around Magma Rock, the sky was red like blood. The street lamps were quite admirable: A large, hollow ruby, about the size of a fist, with a burning fire inside it, that gave the streets and the buildings a red shade. Joe and Lise walked directly towards one of the Inns, but Joe stopped along the way to buy a new sword. He didn't like any of them. Lise pretended not to notice, but it was obvious that She wanted to buy one of those weapons, if only for the fact that they had all kind of gems mounted on the handles. Finally they reached an Inn called "The charred lizard". They entered.

The people of the Dragon Tribe were tall, scaly, and they had sharp teeth. Most had red hair, although a few had black or even yellow. Joe and Lise went to the corner of the Restaurant/Tavern, that was in fact the other side of the business, and ordered some food.

"Listen to me, Lise" said Joe very seriously "You must behave when in front of King Shinryu. He is wise and honorable, as all members of the Dragon Tribe. But they are also impatient and quick to anger. One little mistake, one little offensive word and He'll kill you. It doesn't matter if you didn't mean it".

"B-but..." She said.

"No buts" said Joe "Remember: Let me do the talking and don't speak unless spoken to. You got that?"

"Don't speak unless spoken to". She repeated, clearly frustrated. Joe nodded.

"I may be younger than you" she said angrily, "but I'm not a little girl, you know?"

"In their eyes, you are." Joe said. She frowned.

"How old is he?" She said "I don't believe those stories. Maybe He is the grand-grand-grandson of the Original Shinryu".

"Here are your orders", said a tall and youthful waiter. He seemed the same age as Lise.

"Thanks" said Joe, "excuse me sir, would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"No, not at all. good sir"

"Could you tell us how old you are?" He asked. The waiter blinked a few times. Then he smiled, as he looked at Joe.

"Very strange of you to say that, Sir Joe. I remember when you asked that, almost seven years ago". He smiled "I'm seven hundred and forty seven years".

"Thanks" said Joe, while Lise looked at the waiter with complete disbelief in her eyes. "I'm glad your brother still cooks as well as always".

"Most gracious, sir"

"T-that..." said Lise, after the waiter left, "That's... This must be some kind of joke! That guy looks my age!"

"As you can see" said Joe " The people of the Dragon Tribe are nearly inmortal. King Shinryu's age is a mistery, as no one that asks him survives to tell the tale".

"Maybe you're right" she said, quietly " But then again, He shouldn't be like that! How can you kill somebody just for asking your age?"

"We'll never know" Joe answered "But remember: One little word..."

"And He'll kill us. I know".

"Good" He said.

Suddenly, there was a conmotion at the other end of the restaurant. Someone tossed a bottle, and soon the fight reached the whole place. Ocassionaly items were thrown at their corner, but either Joe burned them, or Lise frost them.

"I'll get you, you.. you shtupid rat!"

"Well, come on! I ain't gonna wait forever!"

The fight became more and more violent, but they continued eating calmly until some drunk guy fell on their table. Luckily for Joe, He had already finished his order. Not so much was Lise, whose food was thrown violently to the floor. She stood up.

"No one messes with my food" She said "No one!" But nobody listened to her. The fight went on and on.

"All right that's it! Glacier!" She screamed. Suddenly, the drunks were covered in ice.

"Thank you, young lady" said the Inn owner, as He proceded to drag the block of ice outside.

"Usually they calm down after a while".

The owner of the charred lizard had joined them at the table. He seemed in his mid thirties, but they knew better. He was bald, except for the sides, and he had a long beard.

"Don't mention it" said Lise "Those guys were destroying the inn that we were going to sleep in. I couldn't allow that".

"Oh, about that" He answered "It's on the house for this night. Consider it a 'thank you' from this old dragoon".

"Dragoon?" she asked.

"Member of the Dragon Tribe" Joe explained. The man bowed.

"If you want anything, just call. Or if you want to buy something..." He said, looking at Joe " ...like a good sword, I can give you the address of a good friend of mine".

"How did you know that I was looking for a sword?" said Joe. The old man grinned.

"No adventurer or traveler leaves home without it". He said. He gave Joe a piece of paper with his signature. "Here. Show this and you'll get a discount".

"Cool!" said Lise "Can I get one too?"

"I'd rather not, young lady" He said "This friend of mine is a sword specialist. I don't think He'd want to make you a staff or a wand".

"I see" She said "Well then, let's go Joe!"

"Okay" he said.

Joe knew that the place would be a weapon shop. What He never thought is that the man that he was looking for was, in fact, a swordsmith. The finest in Dragon's Den.

They entered the shop, which was quite dirty, and full of swords of all kinds and shapes. Some were as big as them. Others were just one handed swords, or even katanas for the warriors of Xian. Lise grabbed a sword from the ground. Although full of dirt and quite old, it had obviously been made with great care, and was well balanced. Lise saw that there were many runes on both sides of the blade, and even on the handle.

"Well, if I knew anything about swords" She said "I'd say that this one is beatiful".

"Not only that, my young lady" said a man. He came from the backstore, wiping the sweat out of his face "It's also very powerful. It's one of my creations. I call it the Rune Blade".

"You must be Varla, the swordsmith" said Joe.

"Depends on who's asking" He said wryly.

Varla was a tall man, with red hair and black eyes. He was, like any other dragoon, covered in scales, and He had long, sharp teeth. His shaved face gave him a youthful appearance. He could have passed as a young man, slightly older than Joe. And yet, his eyes had the strength and depth that only the wisdom of many years could give.

He had long fingers and sharp red claws, but his hands were covered with the usual scars and bruises of the true master swordsmiths.

"My name is Joe, and I'm a djinn hunter. My sword was broken in battle, and I need a new, powerful sword to fight againstmy enemies".

"A djinn hunter..." He said.

Varla examined Joe with a single glance.

"Red hair and red eyes" He said "Clearly a Mars Adept. Agile and strong. Very powerful Psynergy. Hmm... Shield?"

"No".

"Good".

Varla seemed delighted. He began to look all around the store, collecting swords of all kinds.

"Here, here. Take this one".

Joe grabbed it. A quick glance showed that it had been used in combat before. He waved it around, and the room suddenly filled with a suffocating heat.

"No?" said Varla "Don't worry there are many others here".

He gave him another one. Joe swinged it around and sent a powerful wind current that blew many of the swords away.

"No?" said Varla again "How about this one?".

He gave him yet another sword, this one's handle was carved out of a single sapphire. Joe grabbed it and took a good look at the blade. He waved it around. But nothing happened.

"Wait" said the swordsmith "a Mars Adept. How about this one then?"

He gave Joe a a sword with a red handle and several rubies set on the base of the blade. He made a quick stabbing motion, and several fireballs swirled around. Joe measured it. It was perfect, as if made for himself.

"This one" said Joe "I'll take this one". Varla smiled.

"That sword is called the Burning Sword. It's one of the most powerful I have here. You have good taste, sir"

"Here" said Lise "a friend told me to give you this".

"Oh, I see" said Varla "Old Marlon's friends are welcome here. It comes to five thousand coins, sir".

A lot of money indeed. But Joe thought that it was well spend.

"The burning sword" said Lise "I hope it lasts".

They returned to the Inn. Joe's new sword sparkling with the red shade. And the following morning, they set out for the palace. To see the oldest and wisest of all living things.

_(A/N): I've been working hard to rewrite the 'chapter guide'. Certain episodes were so short as to be boring, and others were incredibly huge. Thus, I had to rewrite the whole thing. Again. _

_By the way, I'm going to upload the next chapter just after I finish writing this. See you then._


	15. Shinryu

_Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. However, I do ownall characters that may or may not appear in this fanfic (j/k)_

_(A/N): Told you it was gonna be fast._

_Anyway,like I said this is nowhere near completion. And there goes my reputation. I'm working on something new, something that I haven't seen in the sixty-something pages of fanfics. I think it's gonna be hilarious. If (and only if) it's format it's allowed by this site. I've got plenty of options though._

_This episode and the one before it were part of a single episode. It broke it in two, then added a few more things to each one. I have to say I like them better this way. And that's it._

_Here it goes:_

Episode 14: Shinryu.

"It's kinda strange, really. Usually I can sleep all day. No one ever comes to this city. Save for the trading season, when the caravans come from everywhere, No one comes to the city. And yet two groups have come to Dragon's Den. One came a few hours ago. A young man and a little girl. They came to see the king, since they were 'djinnhunters' . Hardly a title if you ask me. She tripped from the hill and fell all the way down here. And they're supposed to be 'mighty and great warriors'. Pah. And now, the guys at the towers tell me that three others are coming. And one of them is a werewolf. A werewolf! I haven't seen one them since the first days of this age. Right now, those three are looking at the city from the Hill. A blonde guy, A black haired man, and this little werewolf. He seems like a teenager".

"Maybe something's happening in the outside world. Nah. King Shinryu would have told us already".

"May I have your names, please?".

"My name is Leng. I'm a djinn hunter, and messenger from King Raniel of Vale. This is Max, another Djinn hunter. He comes from the Suhalla Range. And this is Bril, from Air's Rock in Osenia".

"Another Messenger from Vale?" said the Guard "What are you having a war or something?"

"Wait" said Leng "Another?"

"Yeah. A red haired man and some girl came a few hours ago, saying that they were messengers from King Raniel of Vale."

"That has to be Joe!" said Leng.

"It has to be!" said Max "I knew the little guy wasn't dead!"

"Well, I don't know about that" said the guard, "I suppose you want to see the King, right?"

"Yes" said Leng "We have to see the King"

"Wait a minute"

The other guard gave him the blackboard again. He wrote something in it. When He finished, the words vanished. Then, a few minutes later, they reappeared. The hand writing was different.

" All right" He said "This Joe, He is meeting with the King tomorrow at sunrise. You will meet the King with him".

"Thank you" said Leng.

"Don't mention it" said the guard. Then He gave the orders to open the gate.

"Now come in" He said "Keep out of trouble".

Leng and Max had already seen the only city of the Dragon Tribe. Bril, on the other hand, was very excited to see this huge city with fires everywhere, and the palace in a nearby Hill, towering over the highest buildings of the city.

"This is very impressive" He said "I hate to admit it, but my home city of Lupes is nothing compared to this".

They had arrived almost at sunset, but the city never slept. There were merchants, taverns, restaurants, weapon and armor shops...

"We need to find an Inn" said Leng. "I happen to know a good one, and the owner is an old friend of mine. It's little expensive, but the food is excellent".

Suddenly, the saw a man pushing a giant block of ice out of his tavern. Several drunkards were inside, frozen.

"What the...?" said Max.

"Is that common around here?" said Bril.

"No, it's not" said Leng still looking at the block, "Anyway, follow me".

They followed him around the city until they saw the Inn. A three story building, located very near the path going towards the Palace.

"The flying dragon" said Leng "Come on. Let's check in".

Bril felt that He had barely put the head on his pillow when He felt the whole bed trembling. He woke up with a start, and fell on the floor.

"Wake up, Sleepy head!" said Max "It's almost time. We'll wait for you downstairs".

Ten minutes later He was on the gate with his friends. But then He saw someone heading towards them. A red haired man with red eyes, too, and a cute blue haired girl, who was quite short. She had clear eyes, and she was wearing blue robes. Apparently, she hadn't slept very much.

"Hey, Joe!" said Leng, patting his shoulders" How are you, dear friend?"

"It's good to see you again" said Joe, calmly "How did you survive?"

"You don't seem too happy to see us, Joe" said Max "And who's this young lady?".

"I'm Lise" She said, proudly "I'm a djinn hunter like Joe"

"You mean like us" said Leng "But we haven't introduced our friend, Bril"

"I'm Bril, from the werewolf tribe" He said blushing "Glad to meet you".

"Glad to meet you too, Bril" said Lise. He blushed even more.

"Well, about the ship" said Max "what happened to you?"

"I was blown away, remember?" said Joe." I saw part of the mast and I.."

"Gentlemen, this way".

They turned around to see a guard in the gate. He opened it, and gave them some bracelets. They put it on, to realize that their Psynergy had been blocked.

"Standard procedure" He said, and began to walk. They followed him. Joe followed his story as they walked.

The road to the palace was mostly made of stairs with several landings. It was full of a bright red dust, which turned out to be pulverized rubies. It was very beatiful, seeing the many fires of the city and palace reflected in the road. Several statues were placed along the road. They represented fierce, natural sized dragons, with rubies instead of eyes. Bril thought that the Dragon Tribe really liked rubies.

Finally, they reached the palace. It was made of blocks of pure onyx, with many windows and towers. Several guards were already on the front gate, ready to lead them to the King's chambers. They followed.

The interior of the castle was still black, although many fires everywhere gave a them a dim light, and a relaxing warmth. Finally, after many more stairs (Max thought that Shinryu's hall was on the top floor, and He was right), they reached a gate. And inside, a great hall.

It was well lit, with many small windows lining in the walls. There were many statues all around them. And in the back, a great throne. Sitting in it was an old man. He had red, and very long hair, and black eyes that, strangely, didn't reflected any light. He was tall and muscular, even for a dragon, and was wearing the royal crown and cape over his Orihalcon armor, and a great sword was hanging from his belt. He was Shinryu. The oldest and wisest of all beings. They could feel his great power, and even from that distance, he seemed to irradiate an aura of majesty like no other.

As the guards called their names, the five travelers bowed down before him. They could feel his gaze, piercing and cold.

"Leave us" He said. The guards left and closed the doors, locking them from outside. They were trapped.

"Arise, young travelers" His voice was deep and rough, yet somehow relaxing. Bril shivered each time the king looked at him in the eye.

"I hear that you are messengers from King Raniel" He said "Please, speak".

"O, Great and Mighty King Shinryu, Leader of the Dragon Tribe!" said Leng (who was in fact the only messenger from King Raniel) " I am Leng, messenger of King Raniel, from the Kingdom of the Golden Valley. His message is simple: Tell King Shinryu to remember the old alliances and help us against the threat of the Elder Tribe. The Demons have appeared again in Weyard".

"Hah. King Raniel's powers have grown weak" He said, turning away from them "I realized that they had returned the moment that they entered this realm".

Nobody dared to say anything.

"Young Bril, do you remember when did the demons appeared on your city?"

Bril shuddered.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty" He said "It was before the first day of summer, according to our calendars"

"Exactly. That would mean two months. Am I right, Lise?".

"Yes, your majesty" she said. Shinryu seemed to enjoy this. He knew (with a single glance) that these two were the weakest and youngest members of the group. And He also knew that they were afraid of him.

"I have already sent a few spies, including my own son, to the remaining three tribes" He smiled. "Word has reached my ears of those demons, and their three generals. Demons can take many different forms. They are fond of destroying everything that lives. And they desire, more than anything else, those creatures that you call 'Djinn' You're djinn hunters aren't you?"

"Yes, your Majesty" they said in unison.

"Do you know why are they looking for them?"

"No, your majesty" said Leng "But King Raniel told me that you might have the answer".

"And indeed, I do" He said.

He sat in his throne, and sighed deeply, as if searching within his oldest memories.

"Have you heard the rumors about me?" He asked, looking at Lise.

"Yes, your majesty" she said. And then she added "you mean those concerning your age?"

King Shinryu's gaze suddenly hardened. Joe, who was standing next to her, hit her with his elbow.

"Yes, those" said Shinryu "I see that you've heard of them".

Lise sighed quietly. For one second there, she thought that she was done for...

"I am" He said "ten thousand seven hundred and thirty four years old, young lady. And yes, the rumors are true".

"I remember the world when the four tribes ruled over everything. It was a golden age for us. And yet, we were hungry for more. I was the prince back then. My father waged war against the other tribes for centuries. The world was crumbling with the might of our battles, and yet we weren't satisfied. Then one night, I remember it very well, a visitor came".

"He was a Demon, although we didn't knew that they existed back then. He was hooded and cloaked, and asked to speak only to my father, the King. I was at the entrance then. The soldiers refused and tried to attack him. They were dead in an instant. More came, and yet He finished them all. At last, orders came from my father. I was to guide him to this very hall".

"When He entered, He bowed before my father, but I knew that He wasn't trustworthy. My father asked him to take off his hood and cloak. He revealed himself to be a headless knight. He had a black sword. And with his words I felt very uneasy. His proposal was this: They'd join their powers with ours, if we sacrificed the divine gift of nature. My father agreed after just a few minutes. And He drank of a dark bottle that the knight gave him".

"Afterwards, we were all cursed. Our strength had increased, yes, But they had tricked the four tribes. We lost the ability to summon the forces of nature, that power that you call 'Psynergy'. And then, a huge army of Demons settled on Tundaria".

"Those Demons attacked us. And we were powerless against them, as our great strength came from them. But (And Shinryu's face softened when He said this) they had left men out of their plans. They considered you weak and defenseless, and they were right. Your race was weak and defenseless back then. But the Gods took advantage of this. After another day of hopeless battle, we saw a great Golden Light, shining towards the North. It was what you call the 'Golden Sun'. And then huge towers came down from the sky, each possessing the concentrated power of an element into their light".

"We all heard this words, echoing in our heads:

_The demons are strong_

_their powers have grown;_

_but Men shall go forth_

_The adepts have come_

_To the south there is darkness._

_To the north, there is light._

_The tribes face true madness;_

_Men have come, they will fight._

"And then, we saw a great army coming from the north. The first Adepts. They had the powers that we had lost, and their powers were pure. With our help, they defeated the demons, and sealed the forbidden gate".

"Our powers returned" He said, with some sadness in his eyes "but they have been weakening through generations. Our people have lost that spark and we'll never find it again. My people will someday exist no more. If only I could do something about it...".

"They told us that the Gods had offered them the power to protect Weyard, a power that came from the Gods themselves. And most agreed. Those that didn't wanted to risk their lives for Weyard joined together in Hesperia. They call themselves 'The Shaman Tribe'.

"But there's more. The gods sent their servants to live among us, so we could call them when we needed their aid. Those are the djinn, and they are the pure embodiment of their respective element. 'Elementals' we called them. They add their divine powers to your own. Do you understand now why do these demons desire the djinn?"

"Light and Darkness. This two forces have been fighting since before Weyard was created. There cannot be darkness without light, and there cannot be light without darknesss. They have been opposing each other since the begginings of time, and will continue to do so until the end. But remember. They are not elements. Light is made of the four elements. As of darkness, nobody knows".

"But" He said, standing up "What if one of these forces were to add the other's strength into it's own?"

Suddenly, they understood. And quite clearly. The demons were looking for the djinn to force them to add their powers to the darkness. If the Djinni added the power of the Gods to the power of the Demons, then they would win their eternal battle against the gods.

The odds were not very promising. Joe had six djinni. Leng and Max had five each. And Lise had four. Twenty Djinn. There were still fifty two djinns out there. And the Demons were looking for them.

"Now you see how close we are to our complete destruction" said Shinryu "And not only ours, but of the whole universe".

They nodded. But what could they do against these demons?

"As I said, I sent spies to the remaining tribes. And they said that the Demons have not found a single Djinn. Not one of them. Apparently, when the Demons appeared at the south, all of the Djinn left to the North. That's why you have found some of them so easily" He said looking at Joe. Joe thought that He knew about his sixth djinni, and how he had found it. But how could He know?

"It's customary that Kings and land lords give presents to warriors that depart on a difficult mission. The only thing that I can give you is this".

He reached behind his throne, and grabbed a huge box. He opened it to find a large shield, with all kinds of colored gems covering it's surface.

"There is one Mars Djinni here, three Jupiter, two Mercury and two Venus. I give them to you. But you better stay out of trouble, many of my men sacrificed their lives to bring these treasures to me".

He put the shield in the box again, and gave it to Leng, who bowed again.

"Now leave. And don't come back".

Suddenly another man entered. He seemed exhausted, and He was full of Scars and bruises.

"There' something out there, my lord!" He said "The Monsters that inhabit Southern Gondowan are marching towards this Dragon's Den!"

"I was expecting it" said Shinryu. "Their powers are growing. Go and raise the alarm. Every member of the Army must be ready to march to war tomorrow at sunrise".

"Yes, My lord" and He left.

"You have nothing to do in this war" He said "And yet I can feel your desire to battle. Will you join us?"

"Yes, your majesty" said Leng "We will".

"Good" He said "You can sleep in the palace. We will leave tomorrow at first light".

That night, they saw the great army of Dragoons for the first time in this age. They wore red armors, and great swords. A few of them preferred Axes. They were well organized and were ready to leave that very night. Thousands of Dragoons were going to the war.

"But I don't want to battle! How could you decide such a thing for us?"

Lise was no warrior. They knew that. She didn't belong in a battlefield, no matter how powerful she was.

"Listen" said Leng "That was not a question. He wanted us to be there. What do you think would have happened had I refused?"

"Besides" said Max "You have no option. Either you fight now, or later. But if you don't help us now, this world will probably end".

"I know how you feel" said Bril "But it's not like we had any choice".

"What if we get killed out there!" She cried "Don't you fear death?"

"No, I don't" said Joe. She blinked a few times.

Lise was a young woman with a strong heart. She was brave, but at her young age, fighting in a war was the last thing she could have wanted. Her mind was rebelling, but her heart was struggling against reason. "I have to fight" she thought "Even if I lose my life, I won't regret it". She slept with that thought in her mind.

Morning came quickly, and the dragons had formed lines and were ready to march at any time. King Shinryu went to the front lines to check on the conditions of the army. Ten thousand dragoons were ready at any time. Joe and the others were among them.

"Come, messengers from Vale!" said Shinryu. They hurried to his side.

"There's something I want to tell you before we leave". He said "You won't be able to follow us once we take off".

"Take off?" said Lise. Shinryu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, young lady. Take off. But I have made an arragement with some of my strongest soldiers".

Five tall dragoons made a line in front of their king, bowing down before him.

"Arise, my loyal soldiers!" He said "This is your mission: these people to the battle, and drop them as close as possible to the enemy lines. Understood?".

"Yes, your majesty" they said. Shinryu left. He needed to direct his people.

"I see you will be using your sword soon, eh?"

Joe recognized the voice. It was Varla!. He was one of the soldiers.

"Now!" shouted Shinryu "Let's go, my people. To war!".

That was a sight that they would always remember in their hearts. All around them, the soldiers began to change. Their eyes turned a light orange. Then their bodies began to grow scales, and they turned different colors, most were red, but others were gold, or even purple. They grew to great sizes, as their faces transformed into their dragon appearance. Their teeth and their claws grew, and they began to grow wings, which were bat-like and had little claws. And then, when everybody had turned into a dragon, they took off. Their roars filled the air, and the flew towards the southern skies.


	16. Gondowan's War

_Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. If (and only if, mind you) I did, then we would be waiting for Golden Sun: Book 23. Yeah, that would be cool._

_(A/N): Sorry for the long wait. I'm trying to post this story **somewhere else **(wink wink). But it turns out, it's not as well as I thought. Therefore I 've been rewriting many of the previous chapters (or episodes, whatever). Plus, I added a Prologue. And stuff._

_And now, to answer the reviews:_

_Master of Reality: Thanks for that 'lol' Here, grab a cookie (gives cookie).As for Dragon's Den,I forgot to say that the sky was red. If you want, you can picture Mordor (from LOTR) with houses and palaces and stuff.I find it easier that way.Also, the Dragon tribe have no connection with Proxians (although I thought about it for a minute), save for the fire stuff. You know, since burning things is fun._

_GoldenSunGeek: Thanks for the help too (gives cookie). Heh, people have it in their genes to find a way to insult you, or curse, without anybody else noticing. Lol._

_I expect to see updates from you guys soon, and from those who read but fail to review, too. (You know who you are! Go ahead and review!)_

_Now, without further delays, I give you Episode (or chapter) 15._

Episode 15: Gondowan's war

The dragons took off, and flew towards the south. It was like riding a boat on the middle of a hurricane.

"Whoa, not too tight lady" said one of them "You don't want to choke me before we get there".

Lise was scared of heights. She had never been one for great excitements or adrenaline driven situations, except battling, and this transportation method was one that she hoped would end quickly. Bril was just as scared. He had never been this high above the ground, except that time when He took the Air's Rock challenge, back when He was fifteen. He had stopped at the peak for just a moment, to catch his breath, but when He looked to the city, He felt so dizzy that He had to sit down for several minutes before moving on.

The Dragons soared over plains and great rivers twirling down there. At last, they reached the battlefield.

Several dragons were fighting already. Most had changed again to their human forms, but others were fighting as dragons, breathing fire and crushing monsters under their feet. The five dragons landed in the middle of the dragon encampment.

Several dragoons had been wounded fatally. Every single one of them had scars and burns all over.

"Damn those werewolves!" said one.

"Don't forget the werebears too!" said another. Bril's gaze suddenly fixed on the floor.

"I...didn't knew there would be werewolves amongst them" He said. Lise quickly ran over to him and hugged him.

"This is not your fault" She said "Remember, your people are being mind-controlled, and enlaved".

Bril blushed.

"Lise, stay here and tend to the injured" said Joe "We'll go and fight" And He ran to the battlefield, the burning sword sparkling in his hand. Max and Leng followed close behind. Bril doubted for a second, and left too.

"Well" said Lise, with that 'pretending-to-be-angry-face' again "I'm better at this anyway".

When the four warriors reached the battlefield, they thought that they had reached Hell instead. There was fire everywhere. The dragons had been burning everything around them. Most had serious wounds, but others casted Cool Aura, making the dragons almost unstoppable. But there were thousands and thousands of monsters. This would be a long battle.

Then, as if waiting for the three djinn hunters, a mighty demon came. He was very short and had a strange staff. He was covered in robes and had a pointy hat, made of some dark silk-like material. There was something about those beady little eyes, and those little gloved hands that made them doubt. It laughed with a very high-pitched voice, and charged. He was extremely fast.

Max reacted just in time, and, putting his shield in front, charged as well. The Demon clashed against him, sending him flying backwards at a considerable distance. It laughed again, jumping up and down, and grinning.

"What are you doing, Max!" said Leng. Max groaned.

"He's strong!" He said "Don't let his appearance fool you!"

Leng charged and aimed for the demon's chest. It jumped above him, and kicked him in the back, sending him to the ground too. Leng cursed and charged again. Bril joined in the attack, and they tried to attack the demon, who was evading and parrying with the staff very easily. Then Leng locked weapons with it, and Bril took the opportunity to strike with his claws. But then, the Demon twisted his staff, forcing Leng to back off, and hit Bril with the staff, sending him flying too.

Then Joe attacked. The Demon blocked his hit, and began to focus on a small, black orb, which was sent towards the red haired man. Joe evaded it just in time, but the Demon used this chance to hit Joe with the staff. He fell a couple of meters away. Leng charged again, but the Demon blocked and hit him. He fell besides Bril. Max stood up and charged again, but the Demon casted a barrier around himself. The Mace rebounded and sent Max along with it.

"Are you sure, Mitze, that these are the ones?" said the Demon. Another voice, this one very low and deep, answered from nowhere.

"If you don't believe me,Matze, then kill them and scram".

Then they realized something. The voice came from the staff. A little face formed in it's tip. It was malevolent and it's eyes were full of hatred.

"Come on! Finish them off!" It said. The Demon negated with his head.

"I want them to suffer! I want them to crawl! " It said.

Joe stood up. He readied his sword again. The Demon grinned.

"Look! Look! That one's ready for more!"

"Then kill him already, He's ready to fall!" answered the staff. The Demon laughed maniacally and charged.

Joe leapt backwards. The Demon charged again, but Bril charged at him from the side. He slashed at his face, which began to ooze that strange gelatinous thing. Bril then grabbed an herb from his belt and ate it. His wounds began to close.

"That werewolf hit us! He's going to die!" said the Demon.

"I'm ready if you are" said the staff "Let's squash them like flies!"

Then He began to spin his staff at a blinding speed. The demon then began to focus a black orb, greater than the one before right in front of his staff.

"Black Ball!" both cried. The orb was sent against Bril, who had no time to move.

"Zephyr!"

Bril dissapeared. The Orb struck the monsters still fighting, making a huge explosion afar.

Then Leng (who had saved Bril from certain death) put the werewolf on the ground.

"Are you hurt?" He said. The werewolf could only mutter "thank you" repeatedly.

Leng then faced the Demon. He readied his sword again, but this time something was different.

He heard something all around him. Something like the sound of a wind-swept valley. He saw the currents of the wind all around the field. Then He remembered the words from the man that gave him the sword.

"Just use it out there. You'll know what to do".

Then He realized what He meant. He charged, trying to focus the power of the Sword in one of the currents. The extra speed of the Djinn made him invisible for a second.

The demon blocked. It didn't know what happened or where did it came from. He only saw a blinding slash which severed his arm, followed by several others, which destroyed the staff. It's roar was heard all over the battlefield. It fell backwards and looked up to see Leng pointing at him with the swift sword still sparkling.

"Do it, Leng!" cried Bril.

"I just want you to know" said Leng "that you'll never get this world. Return to where you came from!" and He stabbed the Demon's head. The high pitched voice wailed for a moment, and then faded into nothingness.

Joe and Max kept the monsters occupied while the rest regrouped. Bril was still trembling. He had seen death so close! But this wasn't the time to think about it.

"There are more coming!" said Max "Hurry!"

"I'll take this side" said Joe "Bril, you and Leng stick together".

"Yes boss" said Bril. He knew that Joe didn't trusted him a capable and well trained werewolf warrior.

"Take this" said Leng. He gave him the now black ring. "It will get you out of trouble".

"It's...It's..." He said. Leng grinned.

"I don't need his aid any longer. Not with this sword" He said. "Zephyr, I give you to Bril. You'll obey him from now on". The ring glowed, the turned a bright purple again.

"All right!" said Max "Let's go!"

Back in the encampment, Lise finished healing the dragoons. They were inmortals after all. She didn't needed to cast high healing psynergy to heal them But she kept thinking about the battle.

"Well, not about the war itself" She thought "It's more about my position in this war. What am I doing here? Is it my destiny to be here and fight?"

There were hardly any wounded in battle, so she was just resting on the infirmary. Those who did came were almost dead. She was very lucky to have the sapphire bottle from Joe. The Water of Hermes was very useful in this cases. It only took one drop to heal any kind of poison or wound.

"I know that I should be out there, fighting. I have to fight! But I know that I'll just be a hindrance. Or will I?"

She thought about the battles she had been before. She was skilled with the staff. She was a powerful Adept. She was agile, but somewhat lacking in the strength department.

"That doesn't matter" she thought. "The only thing that matters in these battles is your psynergy. The one with the most powerful psynergy wins".

And, worst of all, she had only fought mindless monsters before. Slaying a monster that's destroying a village is something. But killing creatures that were posessed and ordered to fight was something else. She thought that those people deserved more than death in this war. She cried.

"Stop that, you fool! Crying is not going to solve your problems. You are strong. You must fight!"

But she couldn't decide by herself. There she was, aching to fight along her friends. But she wasn't brave!

"I am brave. _I am brave!_"

She took her staff in hand and ran.

The battle was raging on. There were losses on both sides, but the dragons were slowly gaining terrain. All of the soldiers back on their human form. Being a dragon, fighting in that form, required tremendous amounts of energy; and everybody had reached their limits. Except for Shinryu.

He stood high and mighty above everything else. His golden eyes sparkled, and He breathed fire everywhere. The monster army retreated. The dragoons used the brief rest to heal and transport the wounded to the infirmary. But then something happened. When they thought that they were safe, they saw the figure of a knight among the enemy army. He had a large sword, and ornate armor, with a blood-soaked cape. But the most surprising thing about this warrior was the fact that He was headless, and as soon as He reached the lines of the Dragoons, He let out a shriek and a giant whip formed in his right hand. It emanated a dark aura like no one had ever felt. And he raised his arm, ready to attack.

"Formina Sage!" He said, with an demonic voice.

"Watch out!" said Leng "Don't let him hit you!"

The whip moved horizontally across the army. The dragoons that didn't ducked had been split in half. Others had lost their eyes. Most were decapitated, but the wound was so clean that their heads fell off only after a while.

"Who's that guy?" said Bril. The knight proceded to draw his dark sword, and fought. He was incredibly strong, and no one could resist him. The dragoons ran before him.

"It's him!" said a deep voice besides them. It was Shinryu. He seemed tired. His eyes were wide open, staring at the headless knight.

"That's the knight that came to our castle so long ago. He's extremely powerful, even for you. Leave this place!"

"What?" said Max "You're telling us to leave?"

"Yes, I am, Master Max" He said. His eyes sparkled for a second "Even your powers are nothing against this demon. Leave him to me!" And He charged.

But when Shinryu reached his opponent, they saw him drop to his knees. The knight raised his arms, and Shinryu fell. The Leader of the Dragon Tribe then began to float in mid-air, as if the Demon was holding him.

"You are not my enemy, Shinryu, son of the Dragon Emperor, Bamut" He said "Do you not wish for the salvation of your tribe?"

"The only way to save my people is to banish you and your kind to hell forever!" He said.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How amusing. True collide!"

Several dark orbs appeared from within Shinryu's body, making him scream in pain.

"We have to do something!" said Joe "Everyone, attack!"

They charged. Joe waved his sword, sending several fireballs at the knight. But He didn't even reacted. Shinryu's face was dull, and his eyes were clouded. He descended slowly.

Then the knight turned to them, although it was difficult to know who was He looking at. He raised his sword again, ready to hit the first on that dared to come any closer. Max charged from the left, and raised his mace, putting his shield in front of Him. The knight turned in his direction, and then Leng charged. He focused his power in the sword, making it glow with psynergy, and He dissapeared.

Then the Demon moved his sword behind his body, and blocked the hit. Leng couldn't believe it. This knight had not only managed to see him coming at that incredible speed. He had managed to block the hit! But Max took this opportunity and jumped, striking the knight from above. The mace hit the armor which let out an empty sound. Then He spun in midair hoping to hit his flank, but the demon catched him and just tossed him away. Leng tried to hit him again, but the demon parried his blows, until He countered with a dark wave, which sent Leng flying backwards.

"You did not seriously think that these toys would be enough to defeat me, did you?" He said "It's funny how the Adepts from ages ago were stronger than you, who have received the blessing of the gods for so much time". Then He laughed coldly.

"Shinryu was right" said Bril, who could not believe what was happening. "This guy's out of our league!".

"Listen Bril" said Joe, almost whispering "Go get the King. I'll keep him occupied" Bril nodded.

Joe focused his psynergy in a wall of fire, surrounding the knight, and then He charged. The Demon walked through the fire, and charged as well. Joe moved swiftly to one side, and casted a fireball, which the Demon caught with his hands. Max and Leng joined the attack, casting their most powerful psynergy, without results.

"I am not here to take your lives...yet" said the Demon. "I, Dullahan, will forgive you this time".

"What?" said Max "He thinks we will let him go! Well I'm not going to let you get away with it. Grand Gaia!"

The powerful current of Venus Psynergy was felt as a great earthquake, ripping stones from the depths of Weyard. But the Demon was unscathed.

"You amuse me, human" He said "a valiant effort, but as useless as the others".

"Zephyr!"

Bril unleashed the power of the Djinni, giving him tremendous speed, and fought his way towards the king. Seconds later he was beside Shinryu, who was still unconscious.

"He's all right!" He said "He's not hurt!" Shinryu opened his eyes, but these weren't the same eyes that He used to have. They were red, like fiery pits. And his expression, usually calm and honorable, had been replaced with a strange smirk.

"Your majesty, are you all right?" said Bril. King Shinryu stood up slowly.

Meanwhile, Leng and Max had recovered and where fighting against the demon. It was strong enough to fight the three of them at the same time, casting barriers and fireballs made of pure darkness. Then suddenly they heard a roar in the distance, and the Demon dissapeared, leaving the three of them defeated. It was Shinryu.

"Your Majesty, w-what's wrong...?" said Bril, tking a step back. Shinryu was turning into a dragon again, his face stretching forward while his skin became scaly and his body began to grow. His eyes went blank, and the dragon let out a terrible roar.

"He's not himself!" said Leng "That Demon turned him into a monster!"

He was right. Instead of attacking the monsters that plagued the battlefield, Shinryu faced his own people, concentrating all of his fire against the dragons. Those that were still fighting against the monsters were burned to ashes. He attacked with a rage not seen in any sane creature on Weyard.

And then He noticed them. The Dragon's face made a smirk, and focused his fire breath into a single (and huge) sphere, capable of burning them to mere dust. There was nothing they could do against this attack. But Lise appeared from out of nowhere, and stood in front of them, readying her staff. She smiled.

"Shade!"

Shinryu released his attack. A giant ball of volcanic might advanced slowly towards them, and suddenly stopped against an invisible barrier of Mercury psynergy. Lise focused, trying to contain this attack, but the might of the Dragon King was too great for her. With a sound a shattering glass, the barrier was broken, and the ball advanced against them.

"This is it" said Bril "We're done for".

But then they saw another giant ball of thunder clashing against the fire. Both fought for a while, until they exploded with such a terrible force that sent them flying through the air.

But if they thought that they would fall on the hard ground, they were wrong. The wind suddenly changed, and they fell slowly into a huge ship, that was sailing throught the air. The Anemos had come to their aid.

"We're here, djinn hunters" said one of the giants. They were all blonde, and had purple eyes. Most were dressed in armors and had huge spears, that only they could wield. But another one was sitting in a throne, and was dressed in kingly robes. His rage was clearly seen in his face.

"That fool!" He said "He has joined their forces!"

Joe quickly bowed before him. The others looked at him confused, but He motioned for them to do the same, and they did.

"Arise, young djinn hunters" said the giant. But instead of rage, His face was full of joy "I am Atlas, King of the Anemos. We'll take care of this battle from now on".

Several others ships could be seen all around them. Several lightning bolts were raining down on the monsters, killing hundreds of them in seconds. The ship then began to lower altitude, until it landed not too far away from Shinryu.

Atlas jumped down, and faced the mighty dragon, but Shinryu just opened his wings and fled.

Atlas saw him and sighed. They had gained a new enemy. A powerful one.

"He'll return. His future is unclear, but I know that He won't die soon".

_(A/N) Pretty cool, Huh? You know you hate that headless dude. Review and say what you think! Also, I'm hiring a muse right now. Expect to see one next chapter!_


	17. Venus Lighthouse

_Argh. The muse hiring process went... not good. Here's one of the candidates._

_Me: Your name please?_

_Muse: What do you mean my name? I'm blonde, I have spiky hair, Icast Venus Psynergy and I'm the hero of your favorite game. Who else could I be?_

_Me: err... Link?_

_Muse: All right, that's it. I'm leaving._

_Needless to say, my house was attacked by wild plants anda great hole leading to the bowels of the earth appeared in my backyard. Stupid Ivan._

_Anyway, I'm still muse-less. That means nobody is constantly forcing me to write more of the story, which is cool, seeing as most muses tend to attack/beat the living bajeezus out of writers. And here's episode 16. Enjoy!_

Episode 16: Venus Lighthouse

With the battle won, the ships of the Anemos landed all around the battlefield, and the giants called for a council. The first (and most important) decision for the Dragon Tribe would be to choose a sucessor, since King Shinryu had no relatives.

"I'll take the crown, for now" said Atlas "It will be returned when one of you proves to be worthy of it. I'll keep it safe".

And second, decide where to strike. The latest information showed Venus Lighthouse as the next target. King Raniel and King Imil had already launched an attack on Xian and Izumo, and the Demons from those areas had already been banished back to the outer spheres.

"That means" said Joe "That despite their efforts, the Demons have not yet found a single djinni".

"That's curious, to say the least" said Leng. "If they have sent assassins looking for us, and they can undoubtely travel wherever they want to, it's difficult to imagine that the Djinn have eluded them for this long".

"We will leave troops here to defend Indra" said Atlas "I want the five of you looking for the missing djinni".

"Five?" said Bril.

"Yes, Bril, five" said Max "You have shown great power handling that Djinni. Haven't you wondered why there are only four djinn hunters?"

"Well, I thought it was because..."

"It's because we earned this job" said Lise "Unleashing a Djinni requires great self-control and a pure heart. You have proved that you can be one of us".

"And that's why I'm naming you Bril, the Djinn hunter" said Atlas "And I expect great things from you".

Bril blushed. "I don't think I deserve this title" He thought.

"You do, Bril" said Atlas. Bril almost jumped in surprise, and then He remembered. The Anemos are the race of Jupiter. They are blessed with the power to read minds.

"Exactly" said Leng "Welcome to the team, Bril".

Bril blushed.

Joe was right when He said that the aid of the Anemos was necessary, even if no one thought that they would actually help. Not only did they left troops in the plains, making sure that no monster or demon from Osenia passed through to Gondowan. King Atlas actually managed to build a flying ship for them. Although very small compared to the ones from the Anemos, it was still a great vessel if compared to any other built with human hands. There they spent their last night in Gondowan.

But with sunrise, an unexpected visitor joined them in the ship.

"Varla!"

"Yes young lady. Atlas said that you will need my aid".

"Are you sure about this?" said Joe "We could use your strength, but only if you realize the dangers that we'll face".

"Aw, come on, Joe" said Max "He wants to join us. He's probably as strong as we are. I say we give a great welcome to our new friend: Varla the Dragoon!".

"More like the swordsmith, since that's my job" He said almost laughing.

"Okay" said Lise "Master Varla, could you please forge a weapon for me?"

"Only if it's a sword" He said. Lise didn't liked the idea, but she agreed.

"I see that all of those weapons and armors need a quick reparation" He said "I'll take care of it".

"All right" said Joe "Next destination: Venus Lighthouse. Brace yourselves!"

Bril was about to ask "What do you mean with brace ourselves?" when the ship took off, flying at an incredible speed. Joe was really putting his heart in the ship. But even at that speed, it felt like quite a cozy ride, and the ship flew lazily among clouds and the usual mountain range, heading northwards.

"Now two, five, three" said Joe, stabbing and slashing with his sword. Lise tried to do the same movements, but she failed miserably.

"I can't!" She cried, falling on her knees. Joe frowned.

Varla was truly a master of the forge. In a few minutes, He managed to create a light sword (without powers, of course) so Lise could practice. Varla had just taken a fragment of steel he had brought, and creating an extremely hot fire with psynergy, melted it and gave it form with a huge mace that He had brought. Then Lise casted an ice block to surround it, and the sword was complete in a few minutes. Since then, Joe had been teaching her the basics, since Leng insisted that He wanted to take the helm.

"You are not fighting an enemy, Lise" Joe said " What I want, and what you need, is strength in that wrist".

Lise stood up again, and tried to follow along with Joe's pace. Eventually, her hands were all sore, and her wrists were aching.

"We're getting there" said Leng "Just a couple of minutes".

Max was looking overboard, polishing his mace. But Bril's face was a shade of deep-sea. He was afraid of heights.

"Great" He said answering to Leng "I can't stand a minute more of this".

Leng was right again. In a few minutes they saw clearly the giantic tower known as Venus Lighthouse, with it's familiar golden beacon, which was strangely brighter than ever..

Venus Lighthouse stood in the great plains of northern Gondowan, directly east of Lemuria, and south of the Hephaestus's Stronghold. At it's feet, the great Lalivero, The Crystal City. It's houses and streets were of marble, and the palaces were full of crystals that were dug from the Suhalla Range, to the Northeast. And finally, to the East, the Great Eastern Sea. The city was a giant square, with three walls separating the outer city, mid city, and inner city. These were of marble too, and they were covered with golden designs and paintings of mythical battles. They were very wide, allowing (according to the people who lived in it) for up to twenty horses to stay under it, all of them between the two sets of gates for each wall. And finally, in the middle of the city, the great Lighhouse of Venus.

But what they caught their attention near the Lighthouse was not the great city, or the Diamond Palace, the resting place of the previous Kings, a little further to the North. It was the great army of sea monsters and sea-dwellers surrounding the city of Lalivero, and the Lighthouse itself. They saw the great army of Lalivero fighting hordes of giant monsters. Those felled in battle were inmediatly revived by their companions, since every single person in the city was a Venus Adept, although not all of them had developed their skills as to be useful in battle. The siege had started some time ago, since the Golden walls had already fallen in some places, and the monsters were invading the city, along with sea-dwellers.

"This is terrible" said Varla "The battle of Gondowan was just a diversion. They are attacking the Lighthouse!"

"I should have seen it" said Leng "There was no point in attacking Dragon's Den. This was their objective".

"But they didn't knew that we would be here" said Max, grabbing his Mace and Shield "I suggest we land on that hill, and from there we launch an attack. The upper terrain will give us the advantage".

Bril and Lise agreed. But Joe had another idea.

"Let's land inside the city" He said "That way we will have the protection of the army, which we will help too. And in a worst case scenario, we can save a few of them with the Ship".

Leng and Varla agreed with this plan. The others nodded.

"But I have to say" said Max "That I prefer fighting in open terrain. It gives me an advantage, y'know".

"Hold them! Stand Firm!"

A man with strange clothes and brown eyes was shouting orders in the city. He had long brown hair. His eyes were of a very dark brown, which people often confused with black. Although a few could swear that in certain occasions his eyes were black, and full of a mindless rage.

"Now!" He said "Attack!"

The soldiers around him raised their hands, and the earth filled with several rays of Golden Light. The monsters that had entered through the city gates soon regretted it, as the Gaia spells felled several of them in the blink of an eye. When the attack finished, there were few monsters or sea-dwellers alive. The soldiers charged and slayed them, killing them all. Several other Adepts quickly raised another gate, made of rocks and stones.

But the monsters struck again, this time from the left side of the gates. They were everywhere, and their numbers were far too much for the few remaining soldiers. And, overnumbered, they had no option but to retreat into the mid-city. But they didn't saw the great flying vessel, landing just behind the gates.

"Here I come!" cried Max. He jumped from the ship and began to fight the monsters. Bril and Leng jumped after him, while Joe, Lise and Varla jumped last. Their powers were enough to regain the lost terrain, and the city soldiers returned. Their captains were amazed.

"Halt there!" shouted the brown haired man. The six warriors turned to see him.

"He's a werebear!" said Lise. The man blinked a few times, but nodded.

"You're correct. I am a werebear from Izumo" He said "But what about you? Who are you, and how could you built such an incredible flying ship?"

"We're friends of King Atlas, of the Anemos" said Joe "He had this ship built for us. And we're your allies. Leave these monsters to us".

"I wish you good luck" He replied coldly "But I also wish you had come earlier. We've had many losses. But they won't get past this barrier!"

And when the soldiers had repaired the outer wall, they retreated to the mid-city, leaving them alone on the battlefield.

"What are they doing?" said Bril "You mean that we have to take this entire army all by ourselves?"

"And we will, young Bril" said Varla "These monsters are no match for mere fishermen, unless they come in large numbers. Even if there were thousands of them out there, they won't stand a chance against us. Not while the Sea is that far away". And He was right. The monsters seemed tired, and the sea-dwellers were exhausted.

"The waters give them life" said Joe "But the Sea is not here for them. This is going to be easy".

While they were saying this, the monsters had been ramming the outer walls, trying to enter through an already defeated spot. And when Joe finished, the gates were launched forward with terrible force, and the monsters entered the city. But they were very weak already, making for a massacre instead of a battle. And suddenly the monsters retreated, leaving the city very quickly. Leng (who had been busy killing most with the aid of his swift sword) jumped to the walls. Varla followed him.

"Oh no..." He said.

"This can't be good" said Leng "Everyone, I need you up here!"

Everyone climbed the walls, save for Max, who had been creating a stronger barrier. And when He jumped with the others, He blinked a few times to make sure that his eyes were working properly.

What once was called the Lalivero Plains was no more. Instead, the Sea was advancing quickly towards the city. And thousands of the most deadly sea-monsters were coming with renewed strength.

"We better leave this place" said Bril "We can't beat that army. There are thousands of them!"

"No Bril" said Joe "We must fight. If we leave now, there won't be any chance for the Lighhouse". The others nodded.

"We have to make a plan" said Varla "Listen carefully: Lise, I want you to freeze the water as soon as it gets near the walls. That will flush them out. But more water will come, so I want you to keep freezing it, as long as you can".

"Got it"

"Leng and Bril, I want you up here to use your most powerful Psynergy against those that come out first. There will be dozens of them, so use large area spells. Got that?"

"Yes sir" said Bril. Leng just nodded.

"Max, Joe and myself will be behind the gates, to fight those that manage to survive the attack. Joe, I want you to focus more on Psynergy than Sword fighting. That goes for you too, Max".

Both nodded.

"This whole plan relies on Lise's Psynergy" said Varla "Therefore, young lady, I must give you this". He reached inside his bag, and gave her a star shaped crystal.

"This Psy Crystal will replenish your Psynergy" He said "Use it when you're absolutely tapped, and not a moment sooner. Got that?"

"Yes" She said. She grabbed the star and put it in her bag.

"Now, Leng and Bril, if for any reason Lise cannot keep freezing the water, I want you to take her to the ship, and then come for us".

"Got it" said Leng. Bril nodded.

Leng was sure that there was something wrong with the plan, although He couldn't realize what. Bril felt it too. He felt like Varla was underestimating the monsters from the depths. But He kept quiet.

And when the waters reached the gates. Lise focused her psynergy on it. Slowly, the waters turned into ice. The howling of the monsters trapped in the ice was horrible. But they quickly broke free and jumped out of the water.

But then, several thunderbolts fell on them, and a tenths of fireballs came out of nowhere. The monsters were pushed back to the sea. Most had burns or terrible cuts and slashes. But they kept coming, and they began to ram the gates. Meanwhile thunders kept falling on them, killing several dozens. Until at last, another wave came but it was soon frozen. Lise was doing her job well.

"What did Max put on those gates anyway?" asked Bril. Leng shrugged.

"I have no idea, but it better lasts" He said "I'd hate to become monster snack".

"Me too" said Bril "I'd like to... Shine Plasma!"

Several more thunders struck the monsters. Leng attacked those closer to the gate, while Bril took care of the ones that jumped out of the water.

And finally, with a small explosion, the monsters destroyed the gate. But Leng saw a huge fire ball burning those around the gates to ashes, which were soon scattered to the winds, thanks to the tornadoes casted by Bril. The monsters began to enter, although very slowly.

"Watch out, Max!" said Varla.

Max just jumped above the monster behind him, and hit it with his mace. The monster fell dead, adding to the pile already around them.

Joe, meanwhile, was fighting against a huge sea serpent. The monster surrounded him, and tried to squeeze him to death, but Joe just focused his Psynrgy into several bolts of fire, which were shot all around him. The bolts pierced through the Serpent's skin.

"Whoa, what spell was that?" said Varla.

"It's a variation of the Liquifier spell" He said, while jumping to hit another kraken. "And here I thought that the Dragon Tribe were masters of every spell in the book".

"That's not in the book, Joe" He said "To create a variation of a spell requires much concentration. I'm beggining to understand why they call you the best djinn-hunter out there".

"Hey, I resent that!" said Max "I'm as good as that kid. He's only lucky".

Varla fought, strangely, without weapons. He didn't needed a sword, as his claws were strong enough to cut through the monster's hides. And his fire spells were very powerful.

"Stand back!" he cried "Eruption!"

Suddenly, just outside the gates, Leng saw two volcanoes appearing from nowhere. He smiled and kept casting his Spark Plasma.

But right then another wave came, and Lise (who had been freezing the waves until know) ran out of psynergy. She tried to cast a simple spell like ice, but even that was impossible.

"All right then" She thought "Time for a quick refilling" And she reached for her bag. Just with grasping the Psy Crystal, she felt her enery returning, and the crystal dissapeared.

The waves kept coming. One after another they crashed against the cave, the sea was rising against the city, but Lise kept them frozen. The monsters had trouble entering the gate, since there were so many dead bodies in there.

But, suddenly, a huge tidal wave began to form on the horizon. It came slowly against the city, despite Lise's attempts to freeze it. And when it reached the city, it turned into a large vortex, where a familiar figure stood. The until now calm wind suddenly became a raging storm all around the city

"It's Poseidon!" said Leng "We need to get out of here!"

"This is the King of the Sea-dwellers?" said Bril "What is He doing here?"

Lise tried to cast Her Ice spells against Poseidon, but they were useless against the barrier that stood all around him.

"We meet again, djinn-hunters" He said, with that deep, booming voice. He raised his trident, pointing it against Lise.

"Ocean Fist!"

"Zephyr!"

Bril took Lise and jumped off the wall just in time. The watery tornado struck the tower, making huge cracks on the archway, and tossing everything in it towards the sea.

He brought her where they were hiding, under one of the towers.

"Ocean Fist!"

"Tempest!"

Leng casted one of his most powerful Wind spells. The four tornadoes stood against Poseidon's, which slowly lost strength, and dissapeared.

"The waters are still rising!" said Max "Poseidon is going to flood the entire city if we don't stop him this time!"

Joe nodded. Varla killed another hydra before they all left the tunnel. But before leaving, Max created another wall to keep the monsters busy for a while. This storm was more powerful that the one He had unleashed against the ship, and the city was almost flooded already.

"Typhoon Blow!"

"Heat Wave!"

This time, Bril casted a current a fire against the powerful psynergy. The cold bubbles were destroyed by the fire, but Poseidon kept attacking.

"Typhoon Blow!"

"Inferno!"

Joe and the others arrived just in time. His Inferno attack was powerful enough to overcome Poseidon's spell, and attack him, but again, the barrier stood in his way.

"We are powerless against this guy" said Varla "That shield blocks all of our attacks".

"There's got to be a way..." said Max, while Poseidon was preparing another attack.

"I told you what my orders were" He said, focusing his power on the trident, which began to create a blue aura all around him "And this time, I won't fail. Watery Grave!".

Another Tidal Wave shook the city's walls. One after another they slammed the city's only protection, making a thunderous noise.

"This is it" said Bril "We're done for".

But right then, a fleet appeared on the horizon, coming from the Northeast. They had great wings attached to their hulls, just like theirs, except that these ships had a dragon's head carved in the front, and they were smaller. Then from the ships a barrage of Ice Missiles was sent against the monsters, killing them by thousands. Sudenly, the one in front raised a blue banner, with golden borders.

"That ship..." said Leng "That ship... That's the _Morning Star!_ That's Marina's Flagship!"

"Marina?" said Joe "You mean, Empress Marina of Lemuria?"

"Of course!" He replied "She's safe!"

"You look a little too happy about that" said Max. Leng blushed a little.

But the ships, which had been gaining terrain, were slowed down by the monsters, which began to board them. But the Lemurians were some of the greatest adepts on Weyard. The monsters decided to retreat to the city, and they began to ram against the walls harder than ever, until the walls finally gave in. Hundreds of monsters entered the outer city, but suddenly, from the mid city, the clear sound of silver trumpets was heard, and the city's army charged.

The soldiers struck fiercely, and the monsters that had come first found death in an instant. The others were trapped between the walls and their might, and were killed. But more came, and they fought for every inch of terrain. The soldiers began to break lines, retreating, but Joe and the others, having recovered their strength, decided to help, and the monsters were pushed outside.

"Thanks again" said the brown haired man. His eyes were full of that joy for the battle that only true warriors had "We've been watching you, but no one expected you to survive against those monsters!"

"And we still haven't" said Lise "Poseidon is still there!"

She was right. Poseidon, although too large to enter the city, was still summoning his tidal waves against the fleet. But Leng smiled.

"Don't worry" He said "Queen Marina has a weapon that no creature of the Sea can resist. And then we'll strike!"

The ships had reached the city now, and, even as Leng spoke, a trident of considerable proportions was shot from the Morning Star, hitting Poseidon's barrier. And with a the sound of a shattering glass, and a huge explosion, the barrier dissapeared.

"This is our chance" said Joe, drawing his sword "Let's go".

And he jumped from building to biulding until he reached the wall. The others quickly followed.

"Inferno!" He cried. The Fireballs shot against Poseidon, hitting his body, arms and sides. The mighty ruler of the Seas screamed in pain, when the others casted his own attacks.

"Grand Gaia!"

"Eruption!"

"Spark Plasma!"

Poseidon seemed hurt, but his eyes sparkled for a split second, and his own trident began to glow again. But then, Varla the Dragoon, who until now had kept his human form, turned into a huge red dragon with golden eyes. And before Poseidon could unleash his powers again, a fiery breath hit him, turning his trident into ashes, and burning his left arm. Poseidon roared, and dissapeared under the waves. The few mosters that were still alive quickly followed, retreating from the battlefield.

The lighthouse was safe. For now.


	18. The Other side

_Disclaimer: I don't own golden sun. Just a golden ring. It doesn't boost my elemental strength though..._

_(A/N): Sorry for not updating before. On monday the 14th (That'd be this monday) The university starts a new term. Of course, that meant paperwork for weeks, tests, psychological stuff and whatnot. For those of you who are in college, you know what that means._

_Anyway, today we'll se the start of a new muse: Saturos!_

_Saturos: Yeah, He strong-armed me into..._

_Me: Shut up._

_And this chapter will be a little different, since we (well you) will be seeing the action from the Demon's POV. Oh, and for those who don't notice troughout the Chapter, the girl is going insane. Oops, that's a spoiler. On with the show!_

Episode 17 - The Other Side.

There was a dark tower in Eastern Osenia, where hundreds of people from all corners of Weyard where slaved. It was not only a tower. It was the most terrifying corner of the world, for all around it the presence of the Demons was felt. A dark aura filled the air, and the poisonous fumes that came from the ventilation shafts only made it far more terrible.

It was in this tower that the dark lord of the demons received his 'offerings' and it was here as well that the three demon generals kept their respective headquarters.

The tower itself was built as a maze, and it's walls were imbued with insanity and despair, making any attempt to escape not only impossible, but horrible for those that tried. They'd rather die working, or sacrificed someday, than to keep living, but seeing and hearing things not meant for any mortal. Such was the fate of the most daring ones.

But on the central tower, on the highest room, there was room with a dim light, and inside that room, the dark god dwelled.

The day that Linee was elected to be the next sacrifice to the dark god, She knew that her death was inminent. She woke up still hurt from all the punches and kicks she received as a worker. Her cheeks were still wet, as she had been crying all night. Her short black hair was dirty, just like the brown rags she was wearing.

"Get up, scum! Get up!"

Linee stood up. Glancing to the door, she saw a demon of the lowest class, a _lesser demon_. His red skin, huge horns and great size gave him a fearsome appearance, but actually, it could have been easily defeated by a reasonably powerful adept. Of course, working in the dungeons and living in the tower had made them weak. No one was able to cast a simple whirlwind spell, let alone try to attack one of them.

The demon forced her out of her room, and gestured for her to follow him. They walked through the deserted halls and great stairs until they reached a huge black door, with no carvings or decorations of any sort. Yet, the shadows seemed to come from the door, blocking what should have been visible in the light.

The demon opened the door and entered a great hall, strangely full of normal decorations. Paintings and great windows, where the moon shone beatifully.But before Linee could take a better glance at her surroundings, everything vanished into some kind of greyish mist, and she felt a sharp pain on her forehead, which made her fell on her knees.

"That's enough, Gargos, you can leave now." said a voice. But rather than a voice, it was a feeling. A feeling of sadness, despair, and several other emotions, whirling inside her mind.

"She's only a child. How innocent. And how delightful".

Linee opened her eyes again, to see herself not longer in the beatiful moon-lit room. Instead, this was some sort of cave. The walls were covered in moss and liquen, and the floor was damp. In front of her was the demon, supposedly called 'Gargos'. He was kneeling before some sort of throne, although she didn't knew what was there, as everytime she tried to look at it, her vision failed and instead she saw herself in all kinds of strange places, all of them shifting from one to another in less than a second. And yet, everywhere she was, the throne was there, along with two shapes she couldn't identify.

"No mortal can look directly at our lord without suffering some kind of allucination", said a low, raspy voice. Linee looked that way to find some sort of giant, all clad in armor. He held a huge sword in his hands.

"No only look at, Sentinel. She's in his presence. Her mind can't be working too well. Heh Heh, It's only a matter of time before her mind snaps with his power".

Linee looked to the other side to watch a man, although his features were concealed under starred purple robes, and a starred pointy hat. She would have considered it ridiculous, but the power that emanated from those men was beyond her grasp. In his hand, a red pulsating orb, surrounded by to silver discs, which spinned around it. And all around him, four orbs moved in weird patterns, changing to his every move. The only part of his body not covered in robes was his face, but it wasn't visible either. All she could see was darkness, and two stars instead of his eyes.

"Poseidon has failed me, again. But there's a slight chance that we could use that to our advantage" There was that feeling again. She felt both longing for something and fearing it, all at the same time. It was rather confusing, but she found herself desperately trying to remember at least one of the sights.

"Yes, My lord" said the dark faced man. "Poseidon's mistakes have given us the upper hand. Once the Adepts have been wiped out, the servants will be easily cast into our realm. I suspect".

"I was surprised to see how HE joined us so easily. Him, of all the creatures, chose to join us!" said the armored giant.

"That's because I was there" said another low and definitely demonic voice. Linee turned around to see a headless knight entering through a door that led to nowhere. The landscapes began to change faster.

The knight himself was obviously another demon. His light purple armor had been ornated with yellow engravings, and his blood soaked cape floated behind him. Then she noticed that He had no visible head, although she could feel him looking at her, and she felt pathetic and weak. She wanted to cry.

"He agreed so quickly that everyone around thought that I had forced him to come. It's only natural that they'll want him back. But how will they react, once they see that their once glorious King Shinryu, the one that remembered the world before the Golden Sun, joined us on his own free will?"

"Shut up, Dullahan" said the purple dressed man "Your way of thinking sickens me. And where is He? Shouldn't He join us?"

"I'm curious to see what He has to say" said the voice again. Linee felt like she was falling down a dark corridor, with several small windows here and there, which lit the way down. She wondered how could she fall if she was standing.

And suddenly, through the door that lead to nowhere, entered a red haired man. He was very tall and well built. He had claws instead of normal nails, and He wore a crown, filled with rubies. He stumbled until He got near the throne (and when she tried to look at the throne again, she felt herself walking up and down a staircase at the same time, looking for something that was calling for her, and at the same time, running away from it), and bowed down before it. The voice was felt again, and this time, it was actually heard, although she was very confused as to hear it instead of feel it, like if it was normal to feel sounds, and inusual to hear them.

"Welcome, Shinryu son of Bahamut, the inmortal Dragoon of the Dragon Tribe! I trust that my servants have led you here without any inconvenients?"

"Yes, My lord. No inconvenients of any way" said the man "Although I have to say that I'm surprised to see this young girl here. Is She, perhaps, today's sacrifice?"

"You could say that, yes. But actually, I want to keep her. She will probably be my last one, before we attack the gods"

Linee wondered who were they talking about. Was she a sacrifice? She was no longer sure of what was happening, or what had happened today, or yesterday, or the day before that. Maybe she was in the day that would be tomorrow. And, most strangely, she realized that she didn't care about it.

"I see. She's perfect for the job."

"Indeed. Now, Are you sure of this? Would you betray your own people, your own world, and your own Gods, only to become inmortal and outlast any creature in this world or any other? Just to obtain power?"

Shinryu nodded.

"This is your last chance, Shinryu. I'd hate it if my three trusted generals, those who had been with me since we fled Heaven, miss the opportunity to fight such a powerful enemy".

Shinryu nodded again. Linee noticed that He was sweating profusely, and his eyes began to glow with a golden light. But what she found most strange was the fact that He was turning red.

The man called Shinryu suddenly let out a roar, and fell on the floor. He rolled all the way over to her, and she saw that the man's eyes were turning a bright green, and he began to grow wings and a tail. His skin was turning a dark red, and His claws began to turn pale. His red hair, which until a few seconds had been short and well kept, was now long and wild. Finally He began to grow great horns, which seemed to be growing rather painfully, as they were blood soaked. The man kept roaring and screaming until the horns stopped growing. Then He stood up. He stared at his body in complete disbelief. Then He smirked evilly.

"Well, do you like it?" said the voice. Linee had that feeling again, that longing. She began to have more hallucinations, but this time, even the four people before the trone became lost in the twirling and spinning of images and sounds.

"It's, it's magnificent..." said Shinryu. He turned to the throne.

"I'm glad you like it. From now on, you'll be my fourth general. The one who will bring the fourth element to an end. You'll be Valukar, the crucible of Flames!"

The demon bowed down before the throne. Now that He was a Demon, Shinryu could see the dark god. But he couldn't describe it. The only way to describe him would be like some darkness that was actually alive. But that didn't even made sense.

"Now, I'll give you your first mission together, my four generals. You'll be paying a visit to our friend, and take over Atlantis. The Lemurians will hold back our darkness, but not for too long. Izumo will be the first to fall. Go now, my trusted generals. You know what to do".

Linee then saw the four demons dissapear. The images and sights returned, and she felt her mind aching to rest, even if she was eagerly awaiting more of that feeling, that longing and the strange sensation that seemed to come from all around her.

Nearby, the dark god of the demons turned his attention to the young girl who still kept some of her sanity. He poured more of his power to the girl. Her eyes opened wide, and she would have fallen unconscious, but the power of the god held her and she floated slowly and gently to the floor. The door to the room closed slowly.

Meanwhile, above the tower, another meeting was taking place. The four generals of the Demon army liked to meet here. From above the tower, the desolation and destruction was clearly visible. Where once a beatiful forest separated Air's Rock from the nearby mountains, now stood a desert of dark sands, the once clear rivers of Osenia were now infected by evil, and the creatures that once lived in this part of the world had turned into horrible monsters who liked to eat flesh and drink blood, preferably from the slaves that couldn't work on construction. And, above the ruined landscape, a horrible dark tower, a vile mockery of the sacred lighthouses.

"I trust everything is going according to plan, Dullahan?"

"Yes, Valukar. And as long as they keep doing their job, we'll gather the power of the gods faster than we thought".

"But what if they become strong enough to defeat us? I like it in this world. I don' wanna go back to the other realm." said Sentinel. The Star Magician scoffled.

"Powerful enough to defeat us? No Adept of this age is 'powerful enough to defeat us', Sentinel. They are oblivious to the true power of their ancestors".

"Yet, we cannot underestimate them again" said Dullahan. He pointed to a weak source of Psynergy that gathered in nearby spot, which dissapeared inmediately.

"I believe somebody has been 'eavesdroping' our conversation." He said.

"And who might this be?" said Sentinel.

"None other than the great Poseidon, the ruler of the Sea" said Valukar. He created a giant mace out of nowhere. The star magician smirked, and the orbs surrounding him spiraled around his body.

"Somebody must clearly stop his evil ways, don't you think?"

"I'll go" said Valukar, and He dissapeared within a fiery tornado.

Dullahan raised his sword towards the Star Magician, whose eyes were sparkling more than usual.

"Not before he does it. Treason deserves treason. But if he tries to, banish him. I have to take care of other things". And He dissapeared too.

"Pah! Pathetic fool. He thinks himself so much only because he's the most trusted by our Lord. I believe we have slaves to torture, Sentinel. Will you join us this time?"

"Not this time, my friend. Probably I'll join you later".

The star magician shrugged and dissapeared too.

Within the great hall of King Poseidon, the mighty ruler of the Sea, a well built and tall Demon suddenly appeared. He had red skin, except his legs and tail, which were of a dark brown, He also had blue wings and horns, and green, glowing eyes. He carried a huge mace.

"Who goes there?" said Poseidon "Who are you? Has my Lord given me an opportunity to redeem myself from my past failures?"

"No, Poseidon. Our Lord has no given you another opportunity. You have failed us twice. And failure, as you well know, it's not tolerated within our ranks".

Poseidon's eyes widened. He reached for his Trident, and pointed it against the Demon.

"I don't know who you are, or why have you come here, but if My Lord has not appointed me for another task, then you have nothing to do here. Begone, you foul monster!"

"You dissapoint me, Poseidon. And to think that I fought against your race for many long years".

"What? You... You're Shinryu!"

"I was Shinryu. Now, your gaze rests upon Valukar, the crucible of flames!" And He raised his mace. But Poseidon was faster than He expected, and evaded the hit, moving swiftly from his throne to the side. Valukar's strength was so great that He destroyed not only the Throne, but also the marble floor beneath it, and the stone wall behind Poseidon.

"Ocean Fist!"

Poseidon pointed his Trident against the Demon, summoning a whirlwind of extremely cold water around his foe. Valukar, who still remained weak against water, was sent crashing against the opposite wall, destroying several of the columns on his way, and making the ceiling crumble with his fall. But He stood again.

"Well done, my old rival. But that trick cannot save you now".

"I think it does, my old friend. Ocean Fist!"

But Valukar wasn't affected by the spell this time. He just continued walking forward, while Poseidon pointed his trident against the demon once more, focusing his powers in it.

"Typhoon Blow!"

"Star Mine!"

Poseidon's attack met Valukar's, and powerful explosions echoed through castle. But the Poseidon's water based attack had managed to turn Valukar's fireballs into several bombs of steam, filling the hall with a dense mist. Valukar used this opportunity to hide amidst the smoke.

"Where are you?" said Poseidon "Show yourself! Fight honourably, like you once did!"

For an answer, Valukar attacked from behind, and hit him sideways in the head. The blow was strong enough to send Poseidon crashing into the wall, and through to the hallway. His royal crown rolled towards Valukar's feet. He grabbed it and began to focus his power on it, making it glow silver. The crown now bore an ancient curse.

"Your way of thinking was your doom, Poseidon. Had you fought with all your might, trying to kill me without thinking of honor and justice, perhaps you could have met a less painful demise. But fear not: I'll remove the curse from you. From now on, you'll be free of reason or sanity, for the rest of eternity. Enjoy yourself" And He put the crown back into the King's head, casting an unbreakable curse on it. Then with a wild laughter, He dissapeared in a fiery tornado.

From that moment, Poseidon turned into a mindless monster, killing everything that came across him, and everyone who stood in his path. There was no trace of the old King's mind, except in his silver eyes, which eons later; at the moment of his death, dropped a single tear, and closed forever.


	19. Izumo

_Hey, I updated. It's been what, 3 weeks now? It seems that Saturos isn't doing his job as well as I thought._

_Saturos: Well, I've been reading the latest 'Fire and more fire' magazine,and I was playing the game to see what happened after they kicked me out._

_Me: Wait, they kicked you out?_

_Saturos: Yeah, big fight with the director. Awful stuff._

_Me: Whatever. _

_University is a pain in the A$$. Don't expect many updates. Now let's answer the reviews!_

_Master of Reality: Thanks! And thanks for helping me with this one. Here, have a giant cookie!_

_GoldenSunGeek: Thank you.Sit no more my friend! The update is here!_

_Merklin: Thanks for reviewing. I think that somebody mentioned that Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury were all goddesses in this game. As Kraden would say, I'll have to research further into this matter.._

_Saturos: Spacejoe doesn't own Golden Sun in any way, form or any other legal word that I can and/or may forget. _

Episode 18: Izumo.

Three days after the battle of Lalivero...

Max woke up with a start. The flying ship was a comfortable ride, made with great care by the Anemos. The bedrooms were all just below deck, with the kitchen and bathroom right near the stairs. Further down (on the bottom part of the ship), the core of the ship, the one piece that made it move: a giant hover jade. The Anemos made these just for fun, as they could fly just by focusing their psynergy, but actually the rest of the world found them incredibly useful, as proven by the fact that this ship could fly using it's powers.

But if Max had to choose something that he was uncomfortable with, He was sure it'd be the thin walls. He had been sleeping very peacefully until the sound of teenagers fighting and screaming on deck.

"Kids these days..." He thought. He got dressed and headed for the deck.

But when He got there, instead of the usual conversation, he found Lise and Bril arguing over something that, judging by their reactions, was of the utmost importance.

"That's just unfair! Who died and made you the leader?" said Bril.

"All I'm saying is that it must have one! All ships have a name, is this one can't be different!" said Lise.

Max smiled at the thought. A name for the ship? But then again, why not?

"What do you say Leng? Joe? Do you think '_The sapphire' _is a nice name? It doesn't even make sense! We don't even have sapphires onboard!"

Leng and Joe were playing chess on deck. Leng had a worried look on his face. Max sat nearby. He noticed that they were playing while using psynergy to move the ship. Quite a feat, but maybe that was part of the challenge. He inmediatly focused his power on the wheel as well, helping them out.

"Thanks Max" said Leng. Then He turned around to Bril. "I don't know kids. Maybe you should ask Varla. Check".

Joe frowned and made his move without even paying attention to Bril's question.

"Varla! Varla!"

But Varla, who was forging yet another sword (The ship's cargo was full of them) had no answer.

"I say we call it '_The djinni'_" said Bril "After all, We are looking for the djinni, right?"

"_The djinni?_. But that doesnt't make any sense!" said Lise.

"At least it means something! Where's that sapphire? I don't see any sapphire around here."

"Now that's silly" She answered "Is there a morning star on the _Morning Star_? Nope. It has that name because it's beatiful and sounds cool. So why can't this ship have a beatiful name too?"

"If you want a cool name, maybe you should call it '_The Werewolf _' After all, Werewolves are cool".

"You just say that because you're a werewolf! And for your information, there are more adepts than werewolves here."

"All right kids, that's enough" said Max "The ship won't have a name until we all agree on one. I guess we should vote for a name"

"Maybe we can make a list of names for the ship" said Varla. He tried a few moves with his new creation. It was perfectly balanced, as usual.

"That's a sound plan, Varla!" said Bril "From there we take those which we most like, until at last we all agree on one name!"

"Guess that's for the best" said Lise "What do you think Joe? Do you like the idea?"

Joe said nothing. Instead, He moved his queen a few spaces forward, until placing it in a straight line from the King.

"Check".

Leng frowned. He couldn't mind read his enemy now, making this a contest of intelligence, rather than skill. He decided for a risky move, and moved his knight to block the queen's move.

"Remember Joe" He said "In chess you need to think ahead. There's nothing you can do against me".

Lise and Bril eventually began to lose interest in their discussion and decided to watch the game. Joe moved his own knight, placing it near Leng's own, and ready to strike.

"Shouldn't you be practicing with your sword, Lise?" he said. The girl jumped out of their way and inmediately asked Varla for permission to use his. The old dragoon handed over the sword, and sat near them, while Lise began to hack and slash all around deck, following a simple routine. This time, however, her moves were noticeably faster, stronger, and more precise.

"Good! Keep at it!" said Max. Lise waved over and continued her practice. Bril decided to be her sparring opponent. But once they left, the old dragoon's face darkened.

"We have been travelling against the wind for three days" He said "The demons are trying to keep us from reaching Izumo".

"The forces of Vale and Serland must have reached Altin by now. From there, and if King Atlas's message arives on time, they will probably turn Southeast, and to our aid" said Leng.

"Once we reach Izumo, however, we could find nothing but enemies" said Max.

"Nevertheless, we must find Shinryu's son. He's the only one able to reclaim the throne of the Dragons" said Varla.

"We must look for King Astart too" said Joe "The werebears will only join us if their king is alive and well".

"He'll probably find us first, if he's still alive" said Leng "For now, we can only hope".

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Izumo, the land of the werebears, was a beatiful place. According to those who had visited it, it was the most beatiful city on Weyard, next only to Vale, the land of the Golden Sun. The werebears, a shamanistic race, lived along with nature, and not destroying it. Their city was built in a valley surrounded by forests, but with so much care that the trees and plants seemed to enjoy covering the entire city with their branches and leaves, rather than growing away from it. However, what the group saw now, on board of their flying ship, was only destruction, with fires burning everywhere and the few houses left were covered in blood and ashes.

"This is terrible" said Lise "We need to find two people amidst this destruction?"

"It's not like we have a choice" said Bril.

"We'll split up" said Joe "Bril, Lise and Varla head south. The rest, follow me."

"Ok, boss." said Max, smirking "By the way, that was a sarcastic remark if you didn't get it."

The ship began to lose altitude, descending slowly until they landed in what looked like a plaza, half-way up the mountain. There was no sign of life in the city.

"I smell something" said Bril.

""You're not the only one" said Max, covering his nose "This horrid smell... Where does it come from?"

"Yuck" said Lise. Privately, all of them agreed with the blue-haired girl.

"Be on your guard" said Varla "In this place, we have no allies for now. Trust nobody. If you come upon an enemy, send some sparks, and we'll be there inmediately. We'll meet here in two hours."

The teams parted ways, oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them. Inmediately, a shadow jumped out from nearby and followed them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Bril and the others walked down a rocky hill, into some sort of valley, they saw traces of the old Izumo civilization. Buildings, walkways and other traces of the city popped in the way suddenly. Ashes everywhere, and some sort of green stain covered everything. They turned left, further down the valley, and saw a great building, possibly a palace or mansion.

"We'll head that way" said Varla "If there are any survivors, they'll look for refuge in there."

"I don't expect to find anyone here" said Bril.

"Come on, quickly" said Lise "I hate this place. It's too quiet."

Indeed, the only sound they could hear since getting off the ship was the wind rustling through the fields, lifting ashes and dust of the ground. Little fires all around the city gave the place an even more ominous look.

But when they entered the ruined building, they saw that they had been right, a couple of hours ago. A dead body was lying on the doorstep, with a great hall just behind it. The body was sitting with it's arms hugging it's legs, and it's face resting on the knees. It had a spear to the side, and a sword in it's hands. The werebear probably died expecting an enemy. Scratches on it's face and arms indicated a recent battle, but it's face had a greenish hue, and probably died from poisoning.

"Ugh. It stinks as if it were already rotten" said Lise. But surprisingly the body was indeed rottening, it's stomach and chest were full of worms, and some organs had that curious greenish hue.

"This sickness was not caused by anything from this world" said Varla " Only a demon could create such a strong poison".

"You're right, old master"

They turned around to see a man standing on the center of the hall. He wore green robes, an emerald colored cape, and a black mask that covered his eyes, revealing only part of his pale features. He had long blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail at his waist, and He had a golden staff in his hands, which ended in a figure resembling the moon. Black gloves with green borders hid his hands.

The man grinned. "This soldier was guarding his master's chamber. Of course, to reach his master, I had to...ooohhh, let's say...'dispose' of him".

"'Really?" said Varla " 'Dispose of him'. And leave him here to rot, right?"

"Of course, old master. But I shall say on his defense, that he was indeed a mighty warrior. Just like the rest of them"

Bril's patience snapped at this point. The mighty werebears. Their natural enemies. Their entire civilization destroyed only with this demon's might? He was surely lying.

"I don't believe you. You couldn't have destroyed the whole city all by yourself." He said. The demon smirked at this remark.

"I never said that I did." Was the answer. Bril's eyes were gleaming with fury.

"I'll avenge those honorable people. You will die here."

"And He'll not be alone" said Lise, readying her staff "You'll pay for this."

"Prepare to be banished to the underworld, where you belong" said Varla, focusing his powers in a fireball.

The demon just glanced at the trio of fighters, measuring their strengths. "The werewolf is weaker than the others" He thought, and readied his staff for a probable charge from the young cub. Bril readied a Tornado spell, while Lise focused her powers on a Hail Prism attack, and Varla readied another fireball in his left hand. The werewolf glared at his enemy, measuring their chances of success. The demon, on the other hand, took a step forward.

"Prepare to die!"

xxxxxxxxx

"Now, that's a huge palace they got here" said Max as they approached the castle that loomed ominously on the top of the hill. An evil aura was felt all around them. Yellow fires were seen dancing on the chasms and over rocks, and when they reached the doorbell, a foul smell greeted their noses. Various bodies were scattered all over the place. Most were decapitated. Others were missing an arm, or a leg. Others had been split in two. All of the corpses had a terrified look in their faces, which, coupled with the blood on the floor and the nauseating smell, completed the tetric scene.

"This is horrible" said Leng.

"These wounds..." said Joe, after checking one of them "It's safe to say that whatever did this had enormous strength, as these people were cut by a single slash. And there are burns in the wounds, as if the weapon was on fire. This was definitely the work of another demonic assassin. We must be on our guard."

"Wow" said Max "That's gotta be the first time I hear you talking so much. Are you scared?"

Joe said nothing, and unsheated his Burning sword, which glowed slightly in the dark. Max and Leng readied their weapons. The Evil mace seemed to enjoy the massacre. It resonated as if laughing at the dead bodies, and the Swift sword sparkled with a slight shade of blue.

They walked through a dimly lit hallway, and reached an spiral staircase. Going up, they saw that the massacre had continued up here, and followed through the corridors in the second floor. A red carpet indicated the path to the main chamber, King Astart's throne room.

"God... this is horrible" said Leng. Indeed, the wounds and the dead bodies were so abundant now that it was difficult to walk without tripping on a werebear's head, or torso, or without stepping on somebody's limps. The walls were completely stained with blood. And finally, in the main chamber, the three djinn hunters met the one responsible for all this massacre.

It was certainly a demon. A hooded and cloaked figure, about nine feet tall, except for the fact that it was hovering a feet or two above the ground. It had a scythe with the handle made of bones, and a sharp blade on it's end, which was surrounded by a green fire. A strange uneasiness overcame the three of them as they approached the figure, who was still turned around. It reminded them of the demon who attacked Serland, only more powerful, and deadlier.

"Indeed, deadlier is the word" It said, reading their thoughts "He was my son, and Hewas very dear to me, and probably some of my powers were passed on to him when we reached this world. Although... I've been here since the beggining and I will be the last one to leave. My name? Your friend over there can guess it..."

"It's Death" said Leng horrified. Death. The reaper of souls. What was He doing in such a place?

"I'm under the orders of our Lord. I'm here to take King Astart to the realm where everyone goes..."

"Not yet" said Joe "King Astart's time has not come yet." But as He said this, the dark and foreboding feeling filled his words with fear. A fear that Max and Leng could also feel.

"Fear... Your entire body reeks of it. You're pathetic. Weak. And yet, your time has not come. King Astart was wise to leave this place before I came" And when He said this, Death turned around and they saw that it's body was nothing more than a skeleton, but green flames seemed to surround him, and He had green fires instead of eyes. Death had a small clock in his hands, but it suddenly dissapeared in a green flame.

"We won't let you leave this place" said Leng. "Not after all that you've done.."

"We don't care who you are, or why are you here. You won't make it out of here." said Max.

"And just what are you going to do? Fight me?"

"Yes" said Joe, readying his sword. "We will fight you. And defeat you. You do not belong in this realm."

"Hah, this I don't believe..!" said the demon. "But, sadly, I won't fill my hands with your filthy innards today" said the Demon, raising his arm. A green light appeared on his bony finger, and shot out to the skies. Then several green flames started to appear over the bodies of the dead werebears. Death laughed with diabolical satisfaction upon seeing the faces of the three djinn hunters, as the bodies were coming to life again, returning as zombies. Mindless monsters, with strength enough to punch a hole through the walls of this palace.

"I'll see you some other day, if you can escape. Now, I take my leave." And with that, the demon dissapeared in a roaring green flame.

"We have to get out of here, and fast!" said Max. The werebears were coming from every possible way. Suddenly, one of them leaped and created a huge spire above them, and launched it with all of his strength. Joe realized it just in time to take a ruby from his bracelet.

"Flash!" He cried. The power of the djinni blocked the attack, and also blocked those from every other werebear in the room.

"On my mark..." said Leng. Joe and Max prepared their powers. And as soon as the barrier dissapeared, Leng's blade let out a howl, and Leng dissapeared from sight. All that Joe and Max could see was the werebears closest to them falling down, struck by an invisible blade. Then, among the roars and growls of the zombies, a path appeared towards the door. Leng appeared near it, decapitating another zombie. But Joe and Max had no time to waste.

"Inferno!"

"Quake Sphere!"

The zombies that were not knocked down by Max's spell wereturned to ashesby Joe's attack. The path was free, and they ran for it. But outside was no different, as the bodies of every single werebear slain by death was now a mindless monster, whose only mission was to feast on their entrails. They had to escape, but all the exits were blocked. Werebears were extremely strong creatures, and the fact that these were zombie werebears wasn't helping. Then, an idea came to Joe's mind. a dangerous idea, but it was their only choice...

"I have an idea, but we need to find an empty room" He said, but his voice was almost inaudible amidst the sound of swords clashing and the roaring of the zombies..

"Well, good luck with that" said Max, casting another earthquake, which bought them some time.

"We must go to the lower levels" said Joe "it's our only chance". And He was probably right, as they were being overwhelmed by the huge amount of zombies.

"All right" said Leng "Whatever it is, it's better than this. Follow me!". And He grabbed his necklace, preaparing to unleash the power of another djinni.

"Gust!" The djinni appeared and sent out a gust of air towards the staircase, blowing away the zombies that were coming up. They wasted no time running downstairs, with the zombies close behind.

The staircase lead them to the central hall, which was overrun.There was no hope of escaping through there. They turned around and ran towards a little door on the left, which lead them to the dining room. Max and Leng dragged a giant table to block the door, only to find the werebears tearing it apart. Joe lead them through a steel door, which went underground and to the basement. Another steel door and they found the cellar. They went in and locked the door, making a barricade with the barrels.

"So, what's the big plan?" said Max. For an answer, Joe took 3 rubies out of his bracelet and whispered something. The rubies sparkled for a second and then their light dissapeared. Leng understood.

"Have you gone mad? Do you really want to die that badly?"

"No" said Joe. "All I need is someone to cover me after I finish. That will be your job."

"You're not going to use one of the forbidden summons, are you?" said Max. Joe nodded.

"You're crazy. If that was your plan, you should have stayed up there and become zombie snack."

"I'm not" He asnwered "I've tried this before."

"And has it ever worked?" asked Leng. Joe didn't answer.

"Stupid kid!" said Max "Please tell me you know the reason why these summons were forbidden."

"I know! I know!" He replied "Just do as you're told. If this doesn't get us out of here, nothing will. Do you want to stay and try to kill this monsters one by one? I don't think so."

Leng sighed. He knew that Joe was right, but there had to be another solution...

Long ago, before humans fully understood the power of Psynergy, it was common knowledge that after unleashing it's powers, a djinni could summon the forces of nature. Two djinn could summon a lower god or goddess and three djinn could summon one of the stronger deities. It required huge amounts of strength and concentration, but the results were easily the most powerful attacks anybody had ever seen. But then people wondered what would happen when four djinn were used. The wisest were not able to contain the powers of the four, and the strongest were not able to concentrate enough to call upon themystical forces. Until one day when a hero (history has not remembered his name, and he's only known as 'the one') did it. His powers were out of this world, and his concentration was not broken. But then, a giant, winged warrior, with blue armor and a lion's head on his left arm appeared from heaven. But then, between the cheering and the offerings, the warrior pointed at the city, which lay on the middle of the western sea, and sent forth a sphere of light. Those who saw it from afar could only describe it as a huge cyan colored orb. The sphere descended slowly to the city and suddenly unleashed destruction on the island. It was utterly destroyed, completely erased from the face of Weyard. The survivors said that it was a punishment against them, hungry for power as they were. Since then, nobody dared to summon these forces again. They were called 'The guardians of Sol' and they were feared. Leng was right to fear this power. But was there another choice? Joe didn't think so.

"All right" said Leng "Do it. We'll try our best to keep us alive."

The door rattled and loud roars were heard outside. Leng focused his psynergy outside the room, creating a wind strong enough to keep the werewolves away from the door. He also grabbed his necklace, looking for a djinni that could protect them. Max grabbed his left bracelet and took out Granite, holding it in his hands. Joe raised his hands, and the four rubies began to float in midair.

"_Oh, You, who have created this world in this realm..."_

A strong wind began to circle the room. The temperature began to increase, slowly, but steadily...

_"Help us in this hour. We need your aid...!"_

Added to the increasing temperature, small red orbs began to appear and surround Joe. Suddenly, a magic circle with small runes appeared on the floor. The runes emitted a faint red glow, increasing every moment.

_"With the strength of the fire, whose justice cleanses this world and the other, I summon your servant...!"_

Leng and Max were still keeping the mosters away. Joe's face, usually calmed, showed now an internal struggle to not break the bond with the God, and to keep the energy released by the summon in his body. Failure to do so meant only death.

_"I summon your strength, your powers and your destruction, Meteor!"_

With the last word, everything calmed down. The magic circle, which until recently emitted a blinding white light, suddenly vanished, and the temperature dropped all of a sudden. The monsters outside still roared and growled, but to Joe, there was only an indistinct sound of people calling his name, a golden light, and then silence. His eyes began to lose track of objects and shapes. And then, with a dizzying blur of colors, everything went white.

"Joe!"

Leng ran to his aid. Joe's limp body was covered in a cold sweat, and he seemed very ill, but still alive. There were small burns on his armor and his sword was burning, a slight reddish tone in the blade. Max took Granite in hand and raised it. A golden light emanated from the yellow crystal, and a protective field surrounded them. An instant later, the roof gave away, and everywhere around them, something that looked like a hurricane of flames began to take shape. Looking up, Max saw a giant meteor, falling down on the castle, while the zombies used their powers to try and keep it away. But the meteor was enormous, and their attempts were futile. There was a huge, fiery explosion, and the castle and most of the mountain dissapeared in it. There was no trace of the building or of the zombies anymore. Just ashes and dust.


	20. Transformations and preparations

_(A/N): Heheh. Gotta love that muse. I need to read a 40 page essay for a test tomorrow, but where am I? Uploading another chapter to this story, which is quite interesting and well written, and that's an opinion not biased at all._

_Saturos: AHEM. Spacejoe doesn't..._

_Wait, not yet. First, the reviews!_

_GoldenSunGeek: Thank you! Sorry about the lack of updates. Wow,when you bounce, you really put your heart into it. Here, have a nice sandwich, since it seems sugar makes you go nuts._

_Master of Reality:Thanks a lot! I think Saturos is the coolest of them all! Quite a good idea to give you a giant cookie, huh? But this time, here's a giant pancake for you! Complete with 3 lts of maple syrup. Yummy!_

_Mornie: Thank you for reviewing. Have a cookie! Yeah, I think it's original too, but now I'm lost! I'll need to check where is this story going, or it'll begin to suck, and we do not want that, do we?_

_ElementalSpirit1: And more you shall have! Thanks!_

_ZeroAXextreme: I've been improving? I didn't notice. Level upsound for me! I really like this name. Soundslike it's from F-Zero GX/AX. The best racer ever, IMO ( I'm learning Net-Lingoor L33T Talk, or N00B Language, whatever you wanna call it,in GFaqs. Quite useful, being a user.) _

_Ok, it's your turn Saturos! Let'em have it!_

_Saturos: (Sunbathing in the pool, with some shades on, and wearing some blue trunks) Spacejoe doesn't own GS, nor does He owns me. He does own this story and these characters, however, so mess with those and I'll have to see you. In the court. Yeah._

_Okaay. Lights, camera, ACTION!_

Episode 19: Transformations and preparations.

"Prepare to die!"

The demon's voice was full of disdain. Bril released his tornado spell, and the Demon countered with a dark beam that clashed against the current of air, dissolving the psynergy. It was Lise's turn.

"Hail Prism!" she cried. The demon created a powerful barrier with his staff, and then formed a black sphere all around himself. He began to float above their heads, and then the barrier dissipated to reveal a large and hideous monster, his true form, which then came crashing down.

It was a dark green, turtle-like creature. A thick shell covered his torso, where four heads appeared. Each head had two light green horns, and it's eyes were a very dark green, almost black. A sticky slime fell to the floor from each of it's mouths, it's strong acidic components corroding the once magnificent marble. A foul air of pure evil came from this creature, taking their strength with it.

"It's poison!" said Varla, covering his nose and leaping backwards. Bril grabbed Lise and leaped backwards too, while the creature's roars filled the room. Suddenly, two of the heads shot some of the greenish slime towards the door, sealing the exit. They had to fight.

"Quick" said Varla "rip your clothes and cover your nose. We must kill this creature quickly, or this poisonous air will finish us before the demon itself."

They followed the dragoon's advice, and soon they were ready to fight. Bril focused his powers in another spell, while Lise took a sapphire from her staff:

"Shine Plasma!"

Suddenly, several thunders struck the hard surface of the creature's shell, but it appeared to have taken no damage. It's surface appeared as rough as before.

"Hah! You fool! Do you really think that your pathetic powers are any match for the mighty Meldanex? My powers are far beyond your imagination!" And as the demon said this, one of the heads began to focus it's powers on a fireball, which soon reached a huge size, and was sent flying towards Varla and the others.

"Shade!" cried Lise. The djinni obediently put up a water barrier that blocked most of the energy in the ball, but a small bit of darkness managed to pass through the barrier and hit her, sending her crashing against the wall.

"Lise!"

Bril jumped after her, while Varla created a series of fireballs and sent them against the demon. The demon's heads retracted and it began to spin rapidly, and the tough shell reflected the fireballs which crashed against the walls, covering the floor with debris. Meanwhile, Bril tended to Lise's wounds, forcing her to eat some of the healing herbs which He carried in his belt. Lise managed to eat them, but she still fell unconscious.

Meldanex advanced towards them, rolling at high speed. Bril grabbed Lise and jumped out of the demon's way, while Varla did the same. Meldanex crashed through the wall and continued to roll ouside, destroying anything on it's path, but soon turned around and headed their way.

"Run!" cried Varla. He headed for safety quickly, but Bril had to worry about Lise, who was still unconscious. He ran towards the other exit, but very soon they found themselves trapped within the giantic building.

"I'll need to turn into a dragon" said Varla "But...If I don't kill him, we'll be destroyed."

"No!" said Bril "You won't defeat him that easily! It'll be like throwing away your life!"

"My life has already been thrown away several times before, young Bril" He replied. Bril put Lise on the floor gently, and nodded.

"Once my energy runs out, I'll turn into a dragoon again" said Varla "That'll be your chance to strike. Remember, look for it's weak point, then attack. You need to focus, Bril. Do not let your emotions take over your decisions". Bril nodded again, this time a single tear appeared on his eye, and rolled down it's face.

Suddenly, as if on cue, Meldanex entered the building, and headed for them. Varla let out a roar, and began to turn red, increasing his size to fit his new form. His eyes turned yellow, and his hands and feet turned into claws. When his wings appeared, Varla had already turned completely into a dragon. Meldanex tried to roll over them, but Varla used his claws to try and stop him. The acidic slime soon started to corrode his fingers, making him roar in pain, but Varla didn't let go. Instead, He breathed fire into the great beast, burning through it's tough shell and leaving him vulnerable to attacks. But Varla had to pay a great price for that courageous action. His left hand had been reduced to nothing, and with a great roar, the old warrior turned again to his original form.

Meldanex, meanwhile, had stopped rolling, eight eyes full of hatred looked at the dragoon. It's four heads let out a howl and sent a deadly attack against the old man. However, before they striked, Bril unleashed his djinni Zephyr, and with his blinding speed saved him.

"Attack now... Bril..." He said.

"What?"

"Unleash...your powers..."

"How?" He asked, almost crying.

"Concentrate, Bril.. Just concentrate..." And He fainted.

Bril put him on the floor gently, and faced against the mighty creature. What were his options? Meldanex had four heads, and powerful attacks that would destroy him with a single hit. But it's thick and rough shell was gone. That gave him an idea. A very dangerous - but perhaps the only - idea.

Meldanex advanced. Bril slowly changed position, and moved around him. The eight eyes were watching his every move. Bril set Zephyr again, and faced the creature, almost challenging the demon. Suddenly two of the heads Let out a roar and lunged for him, but Bril's agility enabled him to jump over them. What He didn't know was that the other two would attack him while He was in the air. The blow made him crash against the wall, and He fell to the floor, very hurt but still not defeated.

"Why do you still fight, young cub?" said the demon "You know you cannot defeat me. Embrace your own destruction, it's your only choice!"

"Never!" He snapped back. "As long as I live, I'll fight for my friends. It's the code of the werewolves."

"Code of the werewolves? Sounds like a hopeless oath for a hopeless race. Fine! Have it your way!" And with this, the Demon's four heads attacked again. But Bril was prepared this time. He jumped out of their way, and ran straight towards the creature. Suddenly, Bril's eyes turned yellow, and his face began to change. His nails began to grow into purple claws, and his whole body began to grow a black fur. A loud howl escaped his mouth as he changed into a werewolf. Bril's transformation had finished, and his powers were sealed, but He gained strength and speed, which he needed.

The demon lunged again, but the werewolf jumped over them and clawed one of them off, just to have another one replace it. Bril howled again and charged, but this time the demon made the mistake of attacking with all of his heads. Bril's claw took his ring, and unleashed the power of the djinni once more. All that Meldanex saw was the werewolf dissapearing, but Bril's speed enabled him to cut off all of the demon's heads at once. The dead heads fell to the ground, but all that remained of them was a pool of acid. However, they growed back.

"I'll never kill him this way" He thought, before realizing that Lise was waking up.

"B-Bril?" She said, confused by his transformation. The werewolf looked at her, but so did the Demon. Meldanex attacked her, but before the demon could touch her, Bril made his final attack. He focused all of his remaining energy and ran up to the demon, jumping with all of his strength towards it's body. The demon roared in pain, but before it was able to do anything else, Bril changed back to his original form, and with the acid burning all around him, concentrated all of his psynergy into one final spell. He stretched his arms, ready to die in case of failure...

"Thunder Mine!"

But Bril's spell was powerful enough. The power of lightning burned all around him, and with Meldanex's entrails destroyed, the demon's body fell heavily to the ground, before collapsing in a bloody mess. In the center, unconscious, was the body of the werewolf that gave his all to save those that He loved.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"And here we are. Although they don't know it, we're the only ones that can help them" said a voice. A low voice. The voice of a warior who has lost a battle, and that knows that there's only one choice: To join forces with those He previously hated.

"It's not like we have any choice" said another voice. This was the voice of a wise and kind ruler, whose power was also great and terrible. But King Atlas's face was neither terrible, nor fearsome. His features, even after many years had changed little, and at the age of 150 years, He had reached that indefinate age when the Anemos stop aging on the outside, and notice the passing of years like the falling of leaves in autumn.

"Fine. I'll go. Of course they need help." said the other voice.

"They're djinn hunters after all."

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Joe opened his eyes, He found himself back in the flying ship. What had happened to him, He didn't know, but his aching body let him know that, at least, He was still alive.

"You're awake..." said a soft voice beside him. It was Lise.

The girl's dress was full of blood and she seemed very bruised, but unhurt. She seemed very tired and sad. Joe tried to stand up, but his body just wouldn't obey, no matter how hard He tried. He turned his face away from her.

"They told me what you did" She said "You cheated death this time."

"Death left before this happened" He said. Lise smiled sadly.

"It would seem so..."

She poured some of the Water of Hermes over his body, but to no avail. "You passed out. You spent all of your energy with that summon. You could've died!"

"If I hadn't done it, we would've died anyway." He replied. Lise lowered her gaze.

"Bril is badly wounded as well, you know. And Varla too. Their wounds healed after I used the water, but you..."

"You thought you lost me..." He said.

"We all thought we lost you." said Leng.

The Jupiter adept was standing in the doorway, and although his face seemed calm, his voice was filled with happiness. Max entered after him. His face was beaming with joy.

"Glad to see you too." said Max. "And still with the same attitude, it seems. You are never gonna change, huh?"

Joe tried to stand up again, but all he could do was sit on the bed. His body still ached, although there was no physical injury. What was happening to him?

"Varla says you'll be alright. He's lost his hand, but he's still all right."

"What about Bril?" He asked.

"He's still very badly injured." said Max. "The waves of darkness he must have faced, fighting alone against such a creature. It's a miracle he's still alive."

"Not a miracle," said Lise "Someone must have been praying for us. For him. Someone must have helped him."

Bril was in the same room, although he was covered in bandages full of healing herbs, and recovering his strength. He slept peacefully, but Joe felt that this was not the same werewolf that He met in Dragon's Den. Something about him had changed. Time would tell what kind of change it was, either for the best - or for the worst.

"Worried about him? Don't be. He's a very powerful werewolf. I don't think He knows the full extent of his power."

"Varla!" said Lise.

"You're up already?" said Leng. The old dragoon smiled and sat next to Bril's bed. "My body and mind may be those of an old man, master Leng." He said "But my spirit still burns strong. The loss of an arm is nothing for a dragoon. Don't worry about me."

"What about Joe?" asked Max. But the old smith had no answer for this. Adepts can summon the gods without fear of harm of any kind, as long as they're powerful enough. But nobody in Weyard's history had managed to summon one of the Guardians of Sol and lived to tell the tale.

"What I recommend is rest and a long sleep. Your psynergy is totally spent, and you'll need your strengths for tomorrow."

"And what will we be doing tomorrow?" asked Lise.

"We're going to Gaia Rock. Quite possibly the only place where King Astart or Shinryu's son may be hiding" Varla pushed everybody out of the room, leaving Joe to rest, along with the sleeping werewolf. But before closing the door, Varla had some final words for him.

"I'm sorry for you, but we will need you out there. And hopefully Bril will aid us too. Have some rest while you can."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Bril..."

"Wake up, Bril..."

"Huh, who's talking to me?"

"Wake up..."

Bril opened his eyes. His body was covered in bandages, and his sight was a little blurry, but He felt better in a moment. He was in the flying ship. Joe was lying in the other bed, probably sleeping. He felt no pain, only the memories of his fight against Meldanex. He had saved everyone, or was somebody else helping him? He felt somehow...different. His movements were faster, and his senses were even more heightened than ever. And then He realized it. His transformation. He had never before turned into a full werewolf, and He hadn't realized it before, but during the fight, He wasn't fighting to protect others. He had been hunting, trying to kill the creature, trying to feed. And what would have happened if He hadn't passed out? The thought startled him.

"I'm not doing that again. Never" He said, putting on his people's clothes.

"Why?" said a voice nearby. Bril knew it was Joe's voice.

"I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself under control"

"Then you're too weak."

Bril thought it was a harsh comment, even for Joe.

"I..."

"You're not. What you did was a brave, although foolish thing. I'm sure your father would've been proud." said Joe. Bril couldn't believe that Joe would be talking like that. After all, He never seemed to care about anyone.

"I'm not so sure" He said. He quickly got up and headed for the door.

"I need some fresh air. You stayin' there?" But Joe didn't answer. His eyes had closed and an instant later, He was asleep.

Bril opened the door and walked into the corridor, strangely unlit. He heard Lise's cheerful voice upstairs, followed by Max's deep laughing and Varla's voice. He headed there to find them setting up a table, with his name in big letters carved on it.

"And here's the hero!" said Max "Come on, lil' buddy. This here feast is for you. Eat up!"

"Thanks" He said, taking a dish of roasted chicken and sitting next to him. He began to eat inmediately, since the Venus adept was known for his inmense appetite.

"We heard what you did" said Leng. "Totally unheard of! No wonder why Atlas named you a djinn-hunter!"

"Those kind of things happen when you're trying to protect your friends." said Max "Ain't that right lil' buddy?"

"Yeah" He said, blushing.

"Are you all right?" asked Lise. "You look like something's bothering you..."

"Oh, it's nothing." He lied, lowering his gaze. "It's just that... We didn't found anyone here. What are we going to do now?"

"Tomorrow we're heading for Gaia Rock." said Varla, who until now was too busy eating. "You might want to rest this night. The future will bring many perils to our team!"

Leng let go of the beef to say "Tell me about it. I feel evil all around us. Gaia Rock might just take our lives. Plus, Death is probably heading that way."

"Death?" asked Bril.

"Yes, Death" said Max, grinning "You know, The Grim Reaper, Harvester of Souls... He ran away from us."

"I might say He had other things to take care of. He seemed very powerful. And we just barely escaped that place." said Leng, frowning. Leng was always calculating reactions and consequences, motivations and thoughts. "When I tried to Mind Read him, I felt death all around me. I felt cold, like I was going down a dark corridor." Leng shriveled at the memory. "This guy is powerful enough to kill us one by one if we let him."

"Sounds like we missed a lot of stuff, huh?" said Varla, "But our tale was no less interesting, or full of dangerous situations." the old dragoon took another fish and heated it up with a little flame.

"We should never split again. At least, not until we're powerful enough." said Bril, looking worried.

"I second that" said Lise "I could've died, but you saved me just in time. Thank you, Bril."

The young werewolf blushed a little, but managed to hide it by stuffing his mouth with food. What Bril didn't notice, however, was the girl's face getting slightly pink around the cheeks.

"And...huh...where is Joe?" said Leng, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Uh...He's sleeping, I think." said Bril. "What happened to him anyway? He's acting all strange..."

"Err...well...You see that hill up there?" asked Max.

"Uh-huh".

"It used to be a mountain. He saved us by blowing it up."

"What? B-but how?"

"He summoned a giant meteor, using four djinni. I don't know if you've heard about these summons..." said Leng. "Must've taken a great amount of power, as now He can't use any psynergy."

"But, without psynergy..." said Bril.

"He may slow us down." finished Leng. "It's difficult to admit, I know."

"He'll be better when we leave for Gaia Rock." said Varla. "Right now, we need to rest. Any leftovers?"

"Umm...no" said Max hiding the rest of the chicken behind the wine.

"Then I'm going to sleep. G'night everyone."

The feast ended for everyone but Max and Leng, who decided to make a drinking competition. Lise and Bril were supposed to be the judges, but they were falling sleep before the djinn hunters even began to feel dizzy. And by the time that Max won, the two of them were already on a deep sleep, although Bril's was strangely peaceful, and devoid of dreams. Just a strange urge and a feeling of danger that wouldn't leave.


End file.
